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Cruisings  in  the  Cascades. 


A     NARRATIVE     OF 

Travel,  Exploration,  Amateur  Pliotography, 
Hunting,  and  Fishing, 

WITH    SPECIAL    CHAPTERS    ON 

HUNTING  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR,  THE  BUFFALO,  ELK,  ANTELOPE, 

ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  GOAT,  AND  DEER;  ALSO  ON  TROUTING  IN 

THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS;  ON  A  MONTANA  ROUND-UP; 

LIFE  AMONG  THE  COWBOYS,  ETC. 

By   G.    0.    SHIELDS, 

("coquina"  ) 

AUTHOR  OF  "  RUSTLINGS  IN  THE  ROCKIES,"  "  HUNTING  IN  THE  GREAT 
WEST,"     "THE   BATTLE   OF  THE   BIG  HOLE,"   ETC. 


chicago  and  new  york: 

Rand,  McNally  &.  Company,  Publishers. 

1889. 


SKv-^ 


Copyright,  1889,  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 


The  articles  herein  on  Elk,  Bear,  and  Antelope  Hunting  are  reprinted  by  the  courtesy 
of  Messrs.  Harper  &  Brothers,  in  whose  Magazine  they  were  first  published;  and  those 
on  Buffalo  Hunting  and  Trouting  are  reproduced  from  "Outing"  Magazine,  in  which 
they  first  appeared. 


Come  live  with  me  and  be  my  love. 
And  we  will  all  the  pleasures  prove 
That  hills  and  vallej^s,  dales  and  fields, 
Woods  or  steepy  mountains,  yield." 

— Marlowe. 


"Earth  has  built  the  great  watch-towers  of  the  mountainCj 
and  they  lift  their  heads  far  up  into  the  sky,  and  gaze  ever  up- 
ward and  around  to  see  if  the  Judge  of  the  World  comes  not." 

— Longfellow, 


280810 


PREFACE. 


And  now,  liow  can  I  suitably  apologize  for  having 
inflicted  another  book  on  the  reading  public?  I 
would  not  attempt  it  but  that  it  is  the  custom  among 
authors.  And,  come  to  think  of  it,  I  guess  I  won't 
attempt  it  anyway.  I  will  merely  say,  by  way  of 
excuse,  that  my  former  literary  efforts,  especially 
my  "Rustlings  in  the  Rockies,"  have  brought  me 
in  sundry  dollars,  in  good  and  lawful  money,  which 
I  have  found  very  useful  things  to  have  about  the 
house.  If  this  volume  shall  meet  with  an  equally 
kind  reception  at  the  hands  of  book  buyers,  I  shall 
feel  that,  after  all,  I  am  not  to  blame  for  having 
written  it. 

THE  AUTHOR. 
Chicago,  March,  1889. 


(7) 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  1. 


The  Benefits,  Mental  and  Physical,  of  Mountain  Climbing— A 
Never-failing  Means  of  Obtaining  Sound  Sleep  and  a  Good 
Appetite — The  Work  to  be  in  Proportion  to  the  Strength  of 
the  Climber — People  Who  Would  Like  to  See,  but  are  Too 
Lazy  to  Climb — How  the  Photograph  Camera  May  Enchance 
the  Pleasures  and  Benefits  of  Mountain  Climbing — Valuable 
Souvenirs  of  Each  Ascent — How  "  These  Things  are  Done  in 
Europe" — An  Effec'ive  Cure  for  Egotism.       ...  17 

CHAPTER  n. 

The  Cascade  Mountains  Compared  with  the  Rockies— Character- 
istics and  Landmarks  of  the  Former — The  Proper  Season  for 
Cruising  in  the  Cascades— Grand  Scenery  of  the  Columbia — 
Viewing  Mount  Tacoma  from  the  City  of  Tacoma — Men  Who 
Have  Ascended  this  Mysterious  Peak — Indian  Legends  Con- 
cerning the  Mountain — Evil  Spirits,  Who  Dwell  in  Yawning 
Caverns— The  View  from  the  Mountain— Crater  Lake  and 
the  Glaciers — Nine  Water-falls  in  Sight  from  One  Point.     .      25 

CHAPTER  IIL 

The  City  of  Seattle— A  Booming  Western  Town— Lumbering 
and  Salmon  Canning — Extensive  Hop  Ranches — Rich  Coal 
and  Iron  Mines — Timber  Resources  of  Puget  Sound — Giant 
Firs  and  Cedars— A  Hollow  Tree  for  a  House— Big  Timber 
Shipped  to  England — A  Million  Feet  of  Lumber  from  an  Acre 
of  Land— Novel  Method  of  Logging- No  Snow  in  Theirs— 
A  World's  Supply  of  Timber  for  a  Thousand  Years.        .  35 

(9) 


10  CONTENTS. 

.  CHAPTER  IV. 

Length,  Breadth,  and  Depth  of  Puget  Sound — Natural  Re- 
sources of  the  Surrounding  Country — Flora  and  Fauna  of  the 
Region — Great  Variety  of  Game  Birds  and  Animals — Large 
Variety  of  Game  and  Food  Fishes— A  Paradise  for  Sports- 
man or  Naturalist — A  Sail  Through  the  Sound— Grand 
Mountains  in  Every  Direction — The  Home  of  the  Elk,  Bear, 
Deer,  and  Salmon — Sea  Gulls  as  Fellow  Passengers — Photo- 
graphed on  the  Wing — Wild  Cattle  on  Whidby  Island- 
Deception  Pass;  its  Fierce  Current  and  Wierd  Surroundings 
— Victoria,  B.  C. — A  Quaint  Old,  English-looking  Town.        42 

CHAPTER  V. 

Through  English  Bay— Water  Fowls  that  Seem  Never  to  Have 
Been  Hunted— Rifle  Practice  that  was  Soon  Interrupted — 
Peculiarities  of  Burrard  Inlet— Vancouver  and  Port  Moody 
— A  Stage  Ride  to  Westminster — A  Stranger  in  a  Strange 
Land— Hunting  for  a  Guide — "  Douglass  Bill"  Found  and 
Employed^ An  Indian  Funeral  Delays  the  Expedition.      .        53 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Voyage  up  the  Frazier — Delicious  Peaches  Growing  in  Sight 
of  Glaciers — The  Detective  Camera  Again  to  the  Front — 
Good  Views  from  the  Moving  Steamer — A  Night  in  an 
Indian  Hut — The  Sleeping  Bag  a  Refuge  from  Vermin — The 
Indian  as  a  Stamping  Ground  for  Insects— He  Heeds  Not 
Their  Ravages 59> 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  Breakfast  with  the  Bachelor — Up  Harrison  River  in  a  Canoe 
— Dead  Salmon  Everywhere — Their  Stench  Nauseating— The 
Water  Poisoned  with  Carrion — A  Good  Goose  Spoiled  with 
an  Express  Bullet — Lively  Salmon  on  the  Falls — Strange  In- 
stinct of  this  Noble  Fish — Life  Sacrificed  in  the  Effort  to 
Reach  its  Spawning  Grounds — Ranchmen  Fishing  with  Pitch- 
forks, and  Indians  with  Sharp  Sticks — Salmon  Fed  to 
Hogs,  and  Used  as  Fertilizers;  the  Prey  of  Bears,  Cougars, 
Wild  Cats,  Lynxes,   Minks,  Martins,  Hawks,  and  Eagles.     66 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  River  Above  the  Rapids — A  L:ike  Within  Ba  altic  Walls — 
Many  Beautiful  Waterfalls — Mount  Douglas  and  ils  Glaciers 
^A  Trading  Post  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Fur  Company — The 
Hot  Springs;  an  Ancient  Indian  Sanitarium — Anxiously 
Waiting  for  "Doughiss  Bill"— Novel  Method  of  Photo- 
graphing Big  Trees 75 

CHAPTER  IX. 

An  Early  Morning  Climb — A  Thousand  Feet  Above  the  Lake — 
Fresh  Deer  Signs  in  Sight  of  the  Hotel — Three  Indians  Bring 
in  Tliree  Deer — "  Douglass  Bill "  Proves  as  Big  a  Liar  as 
Other  Indians — Heading  off  a  Flock  of  Canvas  Backs — A 
Goodly  Bag  of  these  Toothsome  Birds— A  Siwasli  Hut — A 
Revolting  Picture  of  Dirt,  Filth,  Nakedness,  and  Decayed 
Fish — Another  Guide  Employed — Re;idy  on  Sh'^rt  Notice — 
Off  for  the  Mountain' 82 

CHAPTER  X. 

Characteristics  of  the  Flathead  Indians — Canoeists  and  Pack- 
ers by  Birth  and  Education — A  Skillful  Canoe  Builder — 
Freighting  Canoes — Filling  Canoes — Traveling  Canoes — 
Two  Cords  of  Wood  for  a  Cargo,  and  Four  Tons  of  Mer- 
chandise for  Another — Dress  of  the  Coast  Indians.        .  89 

CHAPTER  XL 

Climbing  the  ]Mountain  in  a  Rainstorm — Pean's  Dirty  Bl  inkets — 
His  Careful  Treatment  of  His  Old  Musket — A  Novel  Charge 
for  Big  Game— The  Chatter  of  the  Pine  Squirrel— A  Shot 
Tlirough  the  Brush — Venison  for  Supper — A  Lame  Con- 
versation: English  on  the  One  Side,  Chinook  on  the  Other — 
The  Winchester  Express  Staggers  the  Natives — Peculiarities 
of  the  Columbia  Black  Tail  Deer •  97 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Chinook  Jargon;  an  Odd  Conglomeration  of  Words;  the 
Court  Language  of  the  Northwest;  a  Specimen  Conversa- 
tion— A  Camp  on  the  Mountain  Side — How  the  Indian  Tried 


12  CONTENTS. 

to  Sleep  Warm — The  Importauce  of  a  Good  Bed  when 
Camping — Pean  is  taken  111 — His  Fall  Down  a  Mountain — 
Unable  to  go  Further,  We  Turn  Back — Bitter  Disappoint- 
ment  102 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Return  to  the  Village— Two  New  Guides  Employed— Off  for 
the  Mountains  Once  More — The  Tramp  up  Ski-ik-kul  Creek 
Through  Jungles,  Gulches,  and  Canons— And  Still  it  Rains 
—Ravages  of  Forest  Fires— A  Bed  of  Mountain  Feathers- 
Description  of  a  Sleeping  Bag;  an  Indispensable  Lux- 
ury in  Camp  Life;  an  Indian  Opinion  of  It.  .        .  107 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Meditations  by  a  Camp  Fire — Suspicions  as  to  the  Honesty  of 
My  Guides;  at  Their  Mercy  in  Case  of  Stealthy  Attack — A 
Frightful  Fall — Broken  Bones  and  Intense  Suffering — A 
Painful  and  Tedious  Journey  Home — A  Painful  Surgical 
Operation — A  Happy  Denouement 113 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Beauties  of  Ski-ikkul  Creek;  a  Raging  Mountain  Torrent; 
Rapids  and  Waterfalls  Everywhere;  Picturesque  Tribu- 
taries— Above  the  Tree  Tops — The  Pleasure  of  Quenching 
Thirst — A  Novel  Spear — A  Fifteen-Pound  Salmon  for  Sup- 
per— The  Indians'  Midnight  Lunch — A  Grand  Camp  Fire— 
At  Peace  with  All  Men 118 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Seymour  Advises  a  Late  Start  for  Goat  Hunting;  but  His  Council 
is  Disregarded — We  Start  at  Sunrise — A  Queer  Craft — Navi- 
'  gating  Ski-ik-kul  Lake — A  "  Straight-up  "  Shot  at  a  Goat— 
Both  Horns  Broken  Off  in  the  Fall— More  Rain  and  Less 
Fun — A  Doe  and  Kid — Successful  Trout  Fishing — Peculiar- 
ities of  the  Skowlitz  Tongue;  Grunts,  Groans  and  Whistles 
— John  has  Traveled — Seymour's  Pretended  Ignorance  of 
English 125 


CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

En  Route  to  the  Village  Again — A  Water-Soaked  Country — "Oli, 
What  a  Fall  was  There, My  Countrymen!" — Walking  on  Slip- 
pery Logs — More  Rain — Wet  Indians — "  Semo  He  Spile  de 
Grouse" — A  Frugal  Breakfast — High  Living  at  Home — A 
Bear  He  did  a  Fishing  Go;  but  He  was  Caught  Instead  of 
the  Fish,  and  His  Skin  is  Bartered  to  the  Unwashed 
Siwashes 133 


CHAPTER  XVHI. 

John  and  His  Family  "  At  Home  " — An  Interesting  Picture  of 
Domestic  Economy — Rifle  Practice  on  Gulls  and  Grebes — 
Puzzled  Natives — '*  Phwat  Kind  of  Burds  is  Them?" — A  day 
on  the  Columbia — The  Pallisades  from  a  Steamer— Photo- 
graphing Bad  Lands  from  a  Moving  Train.        .        .        142 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Deer  Hunting  at  Spokane  Falls— Ruin  Wrought  by  an  Over- 
loaded Shotgun :  A  Tattered  Vest  and  a  Wrecked  Watch — 
Billy's  Bear  Story — The  Poorest  Hunter  Makes  the  Biggest 
Score — A  Claw  in  Evidence — A  Disgusted  Party.        .        146 

CHAPTER  XX. 

A  Fusilade  on  the  Mule  Deer — Two  Do?s  as  the  Result — A  Good 
Shot  Spoiled — View  from  the  Top  of  Blue  Grouse  Mountain — 
A  Grand  Panorama ;  Lakes,  Mountains,  Prairies  and  Forests 
— Johnston's  Stoy — Rounding  Up  Wild  Hogs — A  Trick  on 
the  Dutchman — A  Bucking  Mule  and  a  Balky  Cayuse — Falls 
of  the  Spokane  River.         ......        153 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Hunting  the  Grizzly  Bear — Habitat  and  Characteristics — A  Camp 
Kettle  as  a  Weapon  of  Defense — To  the  Rescue  with  a  Wm- 
chester — Best  Localities  for  Hunting  the  Grizzly — Baiting 
and  Still-Hunting — A  Surprise  Party  in  the  Trail — Two  Bull^- 
eyes  and  a  Miss — Fresh  Meat  and  Revelry  in  Camp.        .        164 


14  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Elk  Hunting  in  the  Rocky  Mountains — Characteristics  of  the 
Elk— His  Mode  of  Travel— A  Stampede  in  a  Thicket— The 
Whist'eofthe  Elk,  the  Hunter's  Sweetest  Music— Measure- 
ments of  a  Pair  of  Antlers — Saved  by  Following  an  Elk 
Trail— The  Work  of  Exterminators— The  Elk  Doomed.      .     181 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Antelope  Hunting  in  Montana — A  Red  Letter  Day  on  Flat  Wil- 
low— Initiating  a  Pilgrim — Sample  Shots — Flagging  and 
Fanning — Catching  Wounded  Antelopes  on  Horseback — 
Four  Mule-Loads  of  Meat 194 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Buffalo  Hunting  on  the  Texas  Plains — A  "  Bull  Train  "  Loaded 
with  Skins — A  Sensation  in  Fort  Worth — En  Route  to  the 
Range — Red  River  Frank's  Mission — A  Stand  on  the  Herd — 
Deluged  with  Buffalo  Blood — A  Wild  Run  by  Indians — 
Tossed  into  the  Air  and  Trampled  into  the  Earth.        .        213 

CHAPTER  XXY. 

Hunting  the  Rocky  Mountain  Goat — Technical  Description  of 
the  Animal— Its  Limited  Range — Dangers  Incurred  in  Hunt- 
ing It — An  Army  Officer's  Experience — A  Perilous  Shot — A 
Long  and  Dangerous  Pursuit — Successful  at  Last — Carry- 
ing the  Trophies  to  Camp — Wading  up  Lost  Horse  Creek — 
Numerous  Baths  in  Icy  Water — An  Indian's  Fatal  Fall — 
Horses  Stampeded  by  a  Bear — Seven  Days  on  Foot  and 
Alone — Home  at  Last 236 

CHAPTER  XXYI. 

Trouting  in  the  Mountains— Gameness  of  the  Mountain  Trout^^ 
A  Red  Letter  Day  on  ihe  Bitter  Root — Frontier  Tackle  and 
Orthodox  Bait — How  a  Private  Soldier  Gets  to  the  Front  as 
an  Angler — A  Coot  Interrupts  the  Sport,  and  a  Rock  Inter- 
rupts the  Coot— Colonel  Gibson  takes  a  Nine-Pounder- A 
Native  Fly  Fisherman — Grand  Sport  on  Big  Spring  Creek — 
How  Captain  Hathaway  does  the  Honors^ Where  Grand 
Sport  may  be  Found 257 


CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Deer  Hunting  in  Northern  Wisconsin— On  tlie  Range  at  Day- 
liglit — The  Woods  Full  of  Game — Missing  a  Standing 
"Broadside  "  at  Thirty  Yards— Several  Easy  Shots  in  Rapid 
Succession;  the  only  Fruils  Shame  and  Chagrin — Nervous- 
ness and  Excitement  Finally  Give  Way  to  Coolness  and 
Deliberation — A  Big  Buck  at  Long  Range — A  Steady  Aim 
and  a  Ruptured  Throat — A  Blind  Run  Through  Brush  and 
Fallen  Trees— Down  at  Last — A  Noble  Specimen — His 
Head  as  a  Trophy 280 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Among  the  Pines— A  Picture  of  Autumnal  Loveliness —  Cor- 
dial AVelcome  to  a  Logging  Camp — A  Successful  Shot — The 
Music  of  the  Dinner  Horn — A  Throat  Cut  and  a  Leg  Broken 
— A  Stump  for  a  Watch-Tower — The  Raven  Homeward 
Bound — A  Suspicious  Buck — A  Mysterious  Presence — Dead 
Beside  His  Mate— Three  Shots  and  Three  Deer.        .  288 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

A  Typical  Woodsman — Model  Home  in  the  Great  Pine  Forest 
— A  Lifetime  in  the  Wilderness — A  Deer  in  a  Natural  Trap 
— Disappointment  and  Despondency — "What,  You  Killed  a 
Buck!" — Sunrise  in  the  Woods — An  Unexpected  Shot — A 
Free  Circus  and  a  Small  Audience — A  Buck  as  a  Buck  r — 
More  Venison.        .        .        .    , 296 

CHAPITER  XXX. 

Cowboy  Life— The  Boys  that  Become  Good  R^nge  Riders — 
Peculiar  Tastes  and  Talents  Required  for  the  Ranch — Wages 
Paid  to  Cowboys — Abuse  and  Misrepresentation  to  which 
They  are  Subjected— The  "  Fresh  Kid ,"  and  the  L  'ng-Haired 
"  Greaser" — The  Stranger  Always  Welcome  at  the  Ranch — 
A  Dude  Insul'ed — A  Plaid  Ulster,  a  Green  Umbrella,  and  a 
Cranky  Disposition— Making  a  Train  Crew  Dance— An 
Uncomplimentary  Concert— No  Sneak  Thieves  on  the  Plains 
— Leather  Breeches,  Big  Spurs,  and  a  Six- Shooter  in  a  Sleep- 
ing Car— Fear  Gives  Way  to  Admiration— The  Slang  of  the 


16  CONTENTS. 

Range— The  "  Bucker,"  and  the  "Buster  "—The  Good  Cow- 
Horse — Roping  for  Prizes — Snaking  a  Bear  with  a  Lariat— 
A  Good  School  for  Boys — Communion  with  Nature  Mak  s' 
Honest  Men 304 

CHAPTER  XXXL 

A  Ilontana  Roundup — Ranges  and  Ranches  on  Powder  River ; 
Once  the  Home  of  the  Buffalo,  the  Elk,  the  Antelope;  now 
the  Home  of  the  Texas  Steer  and  the  Cowboy — The  Great 
Plains  in  Spring  Attire— A  Gathering  of  Rustlers — *'  Chuck 
Outfits  "to  the  Front — Early  Risers — Taming  an  "  Alecky  " 
Steer— A  Red-Hot  Device— Branding  and  Slitting— The  Run 
on  the  Mess  Wagon — "  Cutting  Out"  and  "Throwing 
Over " — A  Cruel  Process.        ...  .  327 


CRUISINGS.IN  THE  CASCADES. 


CHxVPTER  I. 


Mountains  are  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  all  natural  scenery." 

— RUSKIN. 

^OR  anyone  who  lias  the  courage,  the 
hardihood,  and  the  physical  strength 
to  endiire  the  exercise,  there  is  no  form 
of  recreation  or  amusement  known  to 
mankind  that  can  yield  such  grand 
results  as  mountain  climbing.  I  mean 
from  a  mental  as  well  as  from  a  phys- 
ical standi3oint ;  and,  in  fact,  it  is  the 
mind  that  receives  the  greater  benefit.  The 
'exertion  of  the  muscular  forces  in  climbing  a 
high  mountain  is  necessarily  severe;  in  fact,  it  is 
[more  than  most  i^ersons  unused  to  it  can  readily 
endure  ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  inspiration  which 
the  mind  derives  from  the  experience  when  the 
ascent  is  made  it  would  be  better  that  the  subject 
should  essay  some  milder  form  of  exercise.  But 
if  one's  strength  be  sufficient  to  endure  the  labor 
of  ascending  a  grand  mountain  X3eak,  that  extends 
to  or  above  timber  line,  to  the  regions  of  perpetual 
snow  and  ice,  or  even  to  a  height  that  gives  a  general 
view  of  the  surrounding  country,  the  compensation 

2  (17) 


18 


CRUISINGS   IN   THE  CASCADP^S 


I 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  19 

must  be  ample  if  one  Lave  an  eye  for  the  beauties 
of  nature,  or  any  appreciation  of  the  grandeur  of  the 
Creator's  greatest  works. 

Yain,  self-loving  man  is  wont  to  consider  himself 
the  noblest  work  of  Grod,  but  let  him  go  to  the  top  of 
one  of  these  lofty  mountains,  surrounded  by  other 
towering  peaks,  and  if  he  be  a  sane  man  he  will  soon 
be  convinced  that  his  place  in  the  scale  of  creation  is 
far  from  the  top.  Let  him  stand,  for  instance,  on  the 
summit  of  Mount  Hood,  Mount  Tacoma,  or  Mount  Ba- 
ker, thousands  of  feet  above  all  surrounding  peaks, 
hills,  and  valleys,  where  he  may  gaze  into  space  hun- 
dreds of  miles  in  every  direction,  with  naught  to  ob- 
struct his  view,  face  to  face  with  his  Creator,  and 
if  he  have  aught  of  the  love  of  nature  in  his  soul,  or  of 
appreciation  of  the  sublime  in  his  mental  composi- 
tion, he  will  be  moved  to  exclaim  with  the  Apostle, 
"What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him,  or  the 
son  of  man  that  Thou  visitest  him  T '  He  will  feel 
his  littleness,  his  insignificance,  his  utter  lack  of  im- 
portance, more  forcibly  perhaps  than  ever  before.  It 
seems  almost  incredible  that  there  should  be  men  in 
the  world  who  could  care  so  little  for  the  grandest, 
the  sublimest  sights  their  native  land  affords,  as  to 
be  unwilling  to  perform  the  labor  necessary  to  see 
them  to  the  best  possible  advantage  ;  and  yet  it  is  so, 
for  I  have  frequently  heard  them  say  : 

''  I  should  like  very  much  to  see  these  grand 
sights  you  describe,  but  I  never  could  afford  to  climb 
those  high  mountains  for  that  pleasure  ;  it  is  too 
hard  work  for  me." 

And,  after  all,  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
mountain  climbing  are  not  wholly  of  an  intellectual 


20 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 


AND   OTHER  IIUNTIJS^G  ADVENTURES.  21 

character  ;  the  physical  system  may  be  benefited  by 
it  as  well.  It  is  a  kind  of  exercise  that  in  turn 
brings  into  nse  almost  every  muscle  in  the  body, 
those  of  the  legs  being  of  course  taxed  most  se- 
verely, but  those  of  the  back  do  their  full  share  of 
the  work,  while  the  arms  are  called  into  action  almost 
constantly,  as  the  climber  grasps  bushes  or  rocks  by 
which  to  aid  himself  in  the  ascent.  The  lungs  ex- 
pand and  contract  like  bellows  as  they  inhale  and 
exhale  the  rarified  atmosphere,  and  the  heart  beats 
like  a  trijD-hammer  as  it  pumps  the  invigorated  blood 
through  the  system.  The  liver  is  shaken  loose  from 
the  ribs  to  which  it  has  perchance  grown  fast,  and 
the  stomach  is  aroused  to  such  a  state  of  activity  as 
it  has  probably  not  experienced  for  years.  Let  any 
man,  especially  one  of  sedentary  habits,  climb  a 
mountain  5,000  feet  high,  on  a  bright,  pleasant  day, 
when 

"  Night's  candles  are  burnt  out  and  jocund  d  ly 
Stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain  tops." 

There  let  him  breathe  the  rare,  pure  atmosphere, 
fresh  from  the  portals  of  heaven,  and  my  word  for 
it  he  will  have  a  better  appetite,  will  eat  heartier, 
sleejj  sounder,  and  awake  next  morning  feeling  more 
refreshed  than  since  the  days  of  his  boyhood. 

Although  the  labor  be  severe  it  can  and  should  be 
modulated  to  the  strength  and  cax:)abilities  of  the 
person  undertaking  the  task.  No  one  should  climb 
faster  than  is  compatible  with  his  strength,  and 
halts  should  be  made  every  five  or  ten  minutes,  if 
need  be,  to.  allow  the  system  ample  rest.  In  this 
manner  a  vast  amount  of  work  may  be  accomplished 


22 


CRUISINGS   I]^  THE  CASCADES 


in  a  day,  even  by  one  who  has  had  no  x^revious 
experience  in  climbing. 

Tlie  benefits  and  pleasures  of  mountain  climbing 
are  much    better    understood  and  appreciated    in 


ox  THE  COLUMBIA. 


Europe  than  in  this  country.  Nearly  every  city  of 
England,  France,  Spain,  Germany,  and  other  Euro- 
pean countries  has  an  Alpine,  Pyrenese,  or  Hima- 
layan club.     The  members  of  these  clubs  spend  their 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES. 


23 


summer  outings  in  scaling  the  great  x>Gaks  of  the 
mountains  after  which  the  societies  are  named,  or 
other  ranges,  and  the  winter  evenings  in  recounting 
to  each  other  their  experiences;  and  many  a  man,  by 
his  association  with  the  clubs  and  by  indulgence  in 
this  invigorating  pastime  develops  from  a  delicate 
youth  into  a  muscular,  sturdy,  athletic  man  in  a 
few  years. 

The  possible  value  of  mountain  climbing  as  a  recrea- 
tion and  as  a  means  of  gaining  knowledge,  has  been 
greatly  enhanced,  of  late  years,  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  dry-plate  system  in  photography,  and 
since  the  small,  light,  compact  cameras  have  been 
constructed,  which  may  be  easily  and  conveniently 
carried  wherever  a  man  can  pack  his.  blankets 
and  a  day's  supply  of  food.  With  one  of  these 
instruments  fine  views  can  be  taken  of  all  interesting 
objects  and  bits  of  scenery  on  the  mountain,  and  of 
the  surrounding  country.  The  views  are  interesting 
and  instructive  to  friends  and  to  the  public  in  gen- 
eral, and  as  souvenirs  are  invaluable  to  the  author. 
And  from  the  negatives  thus  secured  lantern  slides 
may  be  made,  and  from  these,  by  the  aid  of  the 
calcium  light,  pictures  projected  on  a  screen  that 
can  only  be  excelled  in  their  beauty  and  attractive- 
ness by  nature  herself. 


CHAPTER  II. 

^ACH- succeeding  autumn,  for  years  past, 
has  found  me  in  some  range  of  mount- 
ains, camping,  hunting,  fishing, 
climbing,  and  taking  views.  The 
benefits  I  have  derived  from  these 
expeditions,  in  the  way  of  health, 
strength,  and  vigor,  are  incalculable, 
and  the  x)leasures  inexpressible.  My  last 
outing  was  in  the  Cascade  Range,  in  Oregon 
jand  Washington  Territory,  where  I  spent 
Ta  month  in  these  delightful  occupations,  and  it 
is  with  a  view  of  encouraging  and  promoting  a  love 
for  these  modes  of  recreation  that  this  record  is 
written. 

'*  I  live  not  in  myself,  but  I  become 

Portion  of  that  around  me;  and  to  me 
High  mountains  are  a  feeling,  but  the  hum 
Of  human  cities  torture." 

The  Cascade  Range  of  mountains  extends  from 
Southern  Oregon  through  Washington  Territory, 
away  to  the  northward  in  British  Columbia.  In  width, 
from  east  to  west,  it  varies  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
miles.  It  is  the  most  densely-timbered  range  on  the 
continent,  and  yet  is  one  of  the  highest  and  most  rug- 
ged. It  may  not  possess  so  many  ragged,  shapeless 
crags  and  dark  canons  as  the  Rocky  Range,  and  yet 
everyone  who  has  ever  traversed  both  accords  to  the 

(25) 


(26) 


AND  OTHER  HUNTING   ADVi:NTURES.  27 

Cascades  tlie  distinction  of  being  the  equal,  in  pictur- 
esqueness  and  grandeur,  of  the  Rockies,  or,  in  fact, 
of  any  other  range  in  the  country.  As  continental 
landmarks,  Mounts  Pitt,  Union,  Thielson,  Jefferson, 
Hood,  Adams,  St.  Helens,  Tacoma,  Baker,  Stuart, 
Cliiam,  Douglass,  and  others  are  unsurpassed.  Their 
hoary  crests  tower  to  such  majestic  heights  as  to  be 
visible,  in  some  instances,  hundreds  of  miles,  and 
their  many  glaciers  feed  mighty  rivers  ujDon  whose 
bosoms  the  commerce  of  nations  is  borne.  Mount  Jef- 
ferson is  9,020  feet  high;  Mount  Adams,  9,570;  Mount 
St.  Helens,  9,750;  Mount  Baker,  10,800,  Mount  Hood, 
11,025,  and  Mount  Tacoma,  14,444.  There  are  many 
other  peaks  that  rise  to  altitudes  of  7,000  to  9,000 
feet,  and  from  these  figures  one  may  readily  form 
something  of  an  idea  of  the  general  lieight  and  beauty 
of  the  Cascade  Range.  The  fooc-hills  are  generally 
high,  rolling,  and  j^icturesque,  and  so  heavily  tim- 
bered that  in  many  places  one  can  not  see  a  hundred, 
yards  in  any  direction.  Higher  up  the  range,  how- 
ever, this  heavy  timber  is  replaced  by  smaller  trees, 
that  stand  farther  apart,  and  the  growth  of  under- 
brush is  not  so  dense;  consequently,  the  labor  of  travel 
is  lightened  and  the  range  of  vision  is  extended.  The 
geological  formation  in  the  Cascades  is  varied. 
Igneous  rock  abounds;  extensive  basaltic  cliffs  and 
large  bodies  of  granite,  limestone,  sandstone,  etc., 
are  frequently  met  with,  and  nearly  all  the  table- 
lands, in  and  about  the  foot-hills,  are  composed  of 
gravel  drift,  covered  with  vegetable  mold.  The  Cas  - 
cades  may  be  explored  with  comfort  later  in  the 
fall  than  the  Rockies  or  other  more  eastern  ranges, 
the  winter  settino;  in  on  the  former  much  later  than 


28 


CRUISII^GS   liS^  THE   CASCADES 


OXEONTA  GORGE,  COLUMBIA  RIVER,  OREGON. 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  29 

on  the  latter,  although  the  winter  rains  usually  come 
in  November.  September  and  October  are  the  most 
pleasant  months  for  an  outing  in  the  Cascades. 

■*  *  "^  It  was  late  in  October  when  my  wife  and 
I  started  from  Chicago  for  a  tour  of  a  month  among 
the  bristling  peaks  of  the  Cascades  and  the  pictur- 
esque islands  of  Puget  Sound.  A  pleasant  ride  of 
fifteen  hours  on  the  Wisconsin  Central  Railroad  to 
St.  Paul,  and  another  of  three  days  and  nights  on  the 
grand  old  Northern  Pacific,  brought  us  face  to  face 
with  the  glittering  crests  and  beetling  cliffs  that  were 
the  objects  of  our  pilgrimage.  As  the  tourist  goes 
west,  the  first  view  of  the  range  is  obtained  at  the 
Dalles  of  the  Columbia  river,  from  whence  old  Mount 
Hood,  thirty-five  miles  distant,  rears  its  majestic 
head  high  into  the  ethereal  vault  of  heaven,  and 
neighboring  peaks,  of  lesser  magnitude,  unfold  them- 
selves to  the  enraptured  vision.  As  the  train  whirls 
down  the  broad  Columbia  river,  every  curve,  around 
which  we  swing  with  dazzling  speed,  reveals  to  our 
bewildered  gaze  new  forms  of  beauty  and  new 
objects  of  wonder.  So  many  descriptions  of  the 
scenery  along  this  mystic  stream  have  been  writ- 
ten, that  every  reading  man,  woman,  and  child 
in  the  land  must  be  familiar  with  it,  and  I  will 
not  repeat  or  attempt  to  improve  ux)on  any  of  them. 
To  say  the  most  extravagant  representations  are  not 
exaggerated,  is  to  speak  truly,  and  no  one  can  know 
how  beautiful  some  of  these  towers  and  cliffs  are 
until  he  has  seen  them. 

The  train  arrived  at  Portland,  that  old  and  far- 
famed  metropolis  of  the  North  Pacific  coast,  at  half 
past  ten  o' clock  in  the  morning,  and  after  twenty- 


30  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

four  hours  pleasantly  spent  in  viewing  its  many- 
points  of  interest  and  the  snow-covered  mountains 
thereabouts,  we  again  boarded  the  Northern  Pacific 
train  and  sped  toward  Tacoma,  where  we  arrived  at 
six  o'  clock  in  the  evening.  Here  we  passed  another 
day  in  looking  over  a  booming  Western  city,  whose 
future  prosperity  and  greatness  have  been  assured  by 
its  having  been  chosen  as  the  tide-water  terminus  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railway.  Tacoma  is  situated 
on  Commencement  Bay,  an  arm  of  Puget  Sound, 
and  has  a  harbor  navigable  for  the  largest  ocean 
steamships.  The  vast  forests  of  pine,  fir,  and  cedar, 
with  which  it  is  surrounded,  give  Tacoma  great 
commercial  importance  as  a  lumbering  town,  and  the 
rich  agricultural  valleys  thereabout  assure  home  pro- 
duction of  breadstuffs,  vegetables,  meats,  etc.,  sufii- 
cient  to  feed  its  army  of  workingmen.  Rich  coal  fields, 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  furnish  fuel  for 
domestic  iand  manufacturing  purposes  at  merely 
nominal  prices.  All  the  waters  hereabouts  abound 
in  salmon,  several  varieties  of  trout  and  other  food- 
fishes,  while  in  the  woods  and  mountains  adjacent, 
elk,  deer,  and  bears  are  numerous;  so  the  place  will 
always  be  a  popular  resort  for  the  sportsman  and 
the  tourist.  The  chief  attraction  of  the  city,  how- 
ever, for  the  traveler,  will  always  be  the  fine  view 
it  affords  of  Mount  Tacoma.  This  grand  old  pinnacle 
of  the  Cascade  Range,  forty-five  miles  distant,  lifts  its 
snow- mantled  form  far  above  its  neighbors,  which  are 
themselves  great  mountains,  while  its  glacier-crowned 
summit  rises,  towers,  and  struggles  aloft  'til — 

"  Round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  are  spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  head;" 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  31 

and  its  crown  is  almost  lost  in  the  limitless  regions 
of  the  deep  blue  sky. 

From  the  verandas  of  the  Tacoma  House  one  may 
view  Mount  Tacoma  until  w^eaded  with  gazing.  The 
Northern  Pacific  Railway  runs  within  fifteen  miles 
of  the  base  of  it,  and  from  the  nearest  point  a  trail 
has  been  made,  at  a  cost  of  some  thousands  of  dollars, 
by  which  tourists  may  ascend  the  mountain  on 
horseback,  to  an  altitude  of  about  10,000  feet,  with 
comparative  comfort;  but  he  who  goes  above  that 
height  must  work  his  passage.  There  are  several 
men  who  claim  the  distinction  of  being  the  only 
white  man  that  has  ever  been  to  the  top  of  this 
mountain.  Others  declare  that  it  has  been  ascended 
only  twice;  but  we  have  authentic  information  of  at 
least  three  successful  and  complete  ascents  having 
been  made.  Indian  legends  people  the  mountain 
with  evil  spirits,  which  are  said  to  dwell  in  boiling 
caldrons  and  yawning  caverns — 

"  Calling  shapes,  and  beck'ning  shadows  dire, 
^  And  airy  tongues  that  syllable  men's  names." 

Tradition  says  their  wild  shrieks  and  groans  may  be 
heard  therein  at  all  times;  and  no  Indians  are  known 
ever  to  have  gone  any  great  distance  uj)  Mount 
Rainier,  as  they  call  it.  White  men  have  tried  to 
employ  the  native  red  men  as  guides  and  packers 
for  the  ascent,  but  no  amount  of  money  can  tempt 
them  to  invade  the  mysterious  canons  and  cliffs 
with  which  the  marvelous  pile  is  surrounded.  They 
say  that  all  attempts  to  do  so,  by  either  white  or 
red  men,  must  result  in  certain  destruction.  Un- 
doubtedly the  first  ascent  was  made  about  thirty 
years  ago,  by  General  (then  Lieutenant)  Kautz,  and 


32  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

Lieutenant  Slaughter,  ©f  the  United  States  Army, 
who  were  then  stationed  at  Steilacoom,  Washington 
Territory.  They  took  pack  animals,  and  with  an 
escort  of  several  men  ascended  as  far  as  the  animals 
could  go.  There  they  left  them  and  continued  the 
climb  on  foot.  They  were  gone  nine  days,  from  the 
time  of  leaving  their  mules  until  they  returned  to 
the  animals,  and  claimed,  no  doubt  justly,  to  have 
gone  to  the  top  of  Liberty  Cap,  the  highest  of  the 
three  distinct  summits  that  form  the  triplex  corona; 
the  others  being  known  as  the  Summit  and  the 
Dome.  The  next  ascent,  so  far  as  known,  was  made 
in  1876  by  Mr.  Hazard  Stevens,  who  gave  an  account 
of  his  experiences  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for  No- 
vember, of  that  year.  In  1882,  Messrs.  Yan  Trump 
and  Smith,  of  San  Francisco,  made  a  successful 
ascent,  and  in  the  same  year  an  Aus'rian  tourist 
who  attempted  to  ascend  the  mountain,  got  within 
three  hundred  feet  of  the  top,  when  his  progress  was 
arrested  by  an  avalanche,  and  he  came  very  near 
losing  his  life.  Mr.  L.  L.  Holden,  of  Boston,  went 
to  within  about  six  hundred  feet  of  the  summit  in 
1883,  and  Mr.  J.  E,.  Hitchcock  claims  to  have 
reached  it  in  1885. 

From  the  ]'Oint  gained  by  the  trail  above  men- 
tioned, the  tourist  may  look  down  upon  the  glaciers 
of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Puyallup  River,  3,000 
feet  below,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  glaciers  of 
the  canon  of  the  Carbon  may  be  seen  4,000  feet 
beneath  him.  Away  to  the  north,  glimmering  and 
glinting  under  the  effulgent  rays  of  the  noonday 
san,  stretches  that  labyrinth  of  waters  known  as 
Puget  Sound — 

'*  Whose  breezy  waves  tos3  up  their  silvery  spray;" 


AND   OTHER  HUNTIIS^G  ADVENTURES.  33 

while  the  many  islands  therein,  draped  in  their 
evergreen  foliage,  look  like  emeralds  set  in  a  sheet 
of  silver.  Many  prominent  landmarks  in  British 
Columbia  are  seen,  while  to  the  north  and  south 
stretches  the  Cascade  Range,  to  the  west  the  Olym- 
pic, and  to  the  southwest  the  Coast  Range.  All  these 
-are  spread  out  before  the  eye  of  the  tourist  in  a 
grand  panorama  unsurpassed  for  loveliness.  Crater 
Lake  forms  one  of  the  mysteries  of  Mount  Tacoma. 
About  its  ragged,  ice-bound  and  rock-ribbed  shores 
are  many  dark  caverns,  from  which  the  Indians  con- 
ceived their  superstitious  fears  of  this  mysterious 
pile.     An  explorer  says  of  one  of  these  chambers: 

"Its  roof  is  a  dome  of  brilliant  green,  with  long 
icicles  pendant  therefrom;  while  its  floor  is  com- 
posed of  the  rocks  and  debris  that  formed  the  side 
of  the  crater,  worn  smooth  by  the  action  of  water 
and  heated  by  a  natural  register,  from  which  issue 
■clouds  of  steam." 

The  grand  canon  of  the  Puyallup  is  two  and  a  half 
miles  wide,  and  from  its  head  may  be  seen  the  great 
glacier,  300  feet  in  thickness,  which  supplies  the 
great  volume  of  water  that  flows  through  the  Pu- 
yallup river.  From  here  no  less  than  nine  different 
waterfalls,  varying  in  height  from  500  to  1,500  feet, 
are  visible;  and  visitors  are  sometimes  thrilled  with 
the  magnificent  spectacle  of  an  avalanche  of  thou- 
sands of  tons  of  overhanging  ice  falling  with  an 
overwhelming  crash  into  the  canon,  roaring  and 
reverberating  in  a  way  that  almost  makes  the  great 
mountain  tremble.  Fed  by  the  lake,  torrents  pour 
over  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  and  the  foaming  waters, 
forming  a  perpetual  veil  of  seemingly  silver  lace, 


34 


CRUISIXGS   IN  THE  CASCADES. 


fall  with  a  fearful  leap  into  the  arms  of  the  surging 
waves  below.  Mount  Tacoma  will  be  the  future 
resort  of  the  continent,  and  many  of  its  wondrous 
beauties  yet  remain  to  be  explored. 


YIKW  OX  GREEN  EIVEU  NEAK  MOUNT  TACOMA. 


CHAPTER  III. 


V 


Oregon  Railway  & 
Navigation  Company' s  steam- 
ers leave  Tacoma,  for  Seattle, 
at  four  o'  clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  at  six- thirty  in  the 
evening,  so  we  were  unable  to 
see  this  portion  of  the  sound 
until  our  return  trip.  Seattle  is  another 
those  rushing,  pushing,  thriving,  West- 
em  towns,  whose  energy  and  dash  always 
surprise  Eastern  people.  The  population  of  the  city 
is  15,000  souls;  it  has  gas-works,  water- works,  and 
a  street  railway,  and  does  more  business,  and  han- 
dles more  money  each  year  than  many  an  Eastern 
city  of  50,000  or  more. 

The  annual  lumber  shipments  alone  aggregate 
over  a  million  dollars,  from  ten  saw-mills  that  cost 
over  four  millions,  and  the  value  of  the  salmon-can- 
ning product  is  nearly  a  million  more.  The  soil  of 
the  valleys  adjacent  to  Seattle  is  peculiarly  adapted 
to  hop -raising,  and  that  industry  is  extensively  car- 
ried on  by  a  large  number  of  farmers.  Some  of  the 
largest  and  finest  hop-ranches  in  the  world  are  loca- 
ted in  the  vicinity,  and  their  product  is  shipped  to 

(35) 


36  CRUISINGS   IX  THE   CASCADES 

various  American  and  Euroi3ean  ports,  over  100,000 
tons  having  been  shipped  in  1888,  bringing  the 
growers  the  handsome  sum  of  $560,327. 

During  the  fifteen  years  since  the  beginning  of 
this  imiDortant  cultivation,  the  hop  crop  is  said 
never  to  have  failed,  nor  has  it  been  attacked  by 
disease,  nor  deteriorated  by  reason  of  the  roots  being 
kept  on  the  same  land  without  rei)lanting.  It  is 
believed  that  the  Dwamish,  the  White  River,  and 
the  Puyallup  Valleys  could  easily  produce  as  many 
hops  as  are  now  raised  in  the  United  States,  if  labor 
could  be  obtained  to  pick  them.  Indians  have  been 
mainly  relied  upon  to  do  the  picking,  and  they  have 
flocked  to  the  Sound  from  nearly  all  parts  of  the 
Territory,  even  from  beyond  the  mountains.  Many 
have  come  in  canoes  from  regions  near  the  outlet  of 
the  Sound,  from  British  Columbia,  and  even  from 
far  off  Alaska,  to  engage  temporarily  in  this  occupa- 
tion; then  to  purcliase  goods  and  return  to  their 
wigwams.  They  excel  the  whites  in  their  skill  as 
pickers,  and,  as  a  rule,  conduct  themselves  peace- 
ably. 

Elliot  Bay,  on  which  Seattle  is  built,  affords  a  fine 
harbor  and  good  anchorage,  while  Lakes  Union  and 
Washington,  large  bodies  of  fresh  water — the 
former  eleven  and  the  latter  eighteen  feet  above  tide 
level — lie  just  outside  the  city  limits,  oj)posite. 
There  are  rich  coal  mines  at  hand,  which  produce 
nearly  a  million  dollars  worth  each  year.  Large 
fertile  tracts  of  agricultural  lands,  in  the  near 
vicinity,  produce  grain,  vegetables,  and  fruits  of 
many  varieties,  and  in  great  luxuriance.  Iron  ore 
of  an  excellent  quality  abounds  in  the  hills  and 


AND   OTHER  HFNTING   ADVENTURES.  37 

mountains  back  of  the  city,  and  with  all  these 
natural  resources  and  advantages  at  her  command, 
Seattle  is  sure  to  become  a  great  metropolis  in  the 
near  future.  The  climate  of  the  Puget  Sound  coun- 
try is  temperate;  snow  seldom  falls  before  Christ- 
mas, never  to  a  greater  depth  than  a  few  inches  in 
the  valleys  and  lowlands,  and  seldom  lies  more 
than  a  few  days  at  a  time.  My  friend,  Mr.  W. 
A.  Perry,  of  Seattle,  in  a  letter  dated  December  6, 
says: 

''The  weather,  since  your  departure,  has  been 
very  beautiful.  The  morning  of  your  arrival  was 
the  coldest  day  w^e  have  had  this  autumn.  Flowers 
are  now  blooming  in  the  gardens,  and  yesterday  a 
friend  who  lives  at  Lake  Washington  sent  me  a  box 
of  delicious  strawberries,,  picked  from  the  vines  in 
his  garden  in  the  open  air  on  December  4,  while 
you,  i30or  fellow,  were  shivering,  wrax)ped  up  in 
numberless  coats  and  furs,  in  the  arctic  regions  of 
Chicago.  Why  don't  you  emigrate?  There's  lots  of 
room  for  you  on  the  Sumas,  where  the  flowers  are 
ever  blooming,  where  the  summer  never  dies,  where 
the  good  Lord  sends  the  tyee  (great)  salmon  to  your 
very  door;  and  where,  if  you  want  to  shoot,  you 
have  your  choice  from  the  tiny  jacksnipe  to  the 
cultus  bear  or  the  lordly  elk." 

There  are  thousands  of  acres  of  natural  cranberry 
marshes  on  the  shores  of  the  sound,  where  this  fruit 
grows  Avild,  of  good  quality,  and  in  great  abundance. 
It  has  not  been  cultivated  there  yet,  but  fortunes 
will  be  made  in  that  industry  in  the  near  future. 

But  the  crowning  glory  of  Puget  Sound,  and  its 
greatest  source  of  wealth,  are  the  vast  forests  of 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  39 

timber.  It  is  scarcely  advisable  to  tell  the  truth 
concerning  the  size  to  which  some  of  the  giant  hrs 
and  cedars  grow  in  this  country,  lest  I  be  accused  of 
exaggeration;  but,  for  proof  of  what  I  say,  it  will 
only  be  necessary  to  inquire  of  any  resident  of  the 
Sound  country.  There  are  hundreds  of  fir  and  cedar 
trees  in  these  woods  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  in 
diameter,  above  the  spur  roots,  and  over  three 
hundred  feet  high.  A  cube  was  cut  from  a  fir  tree, 
near  Vancouver,  and  «hipped  to  the  Colonial  Exhi- 
bition in  London  in  1886,  tliat  measured  nine  feet 
and  eight  inches  in  thickness  each  way.  The  bark 
of  this  tree  was  fourteen  inches  thick.  Another 
tree  was  cut,  trimmed  to  a  length  of  three  hundred 
and  two  feet,  and  sent  to  the  same  destination,  but 
this  one,  I  am  told,  was  only  six  feet  through  at 
the  butt. 

From  one  tree  cut  near  Seattle  six  saw-logs  were 
taken,  ^ve  of  which  were  thirty  feet  long,  each,  and 
the  other  was  twenty- four  feet  in  length.  This  tree 
was  only  five  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  the 
first  limb  grew  at  a  height  of  two  feet  above  where 
the  last  log  was  cut  off,  or  over  one  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  from  the  ground.  A  red  cedar  was  cut 
in  the  same  neighborhood  that  measured  eighteen 
feet  in  diameter  six  feet  above  the  ground  ;  and 
there  is  a  well-authenticated  case  of  a  man,  named 
Hepburn,  having  lived  in  one  of  these  cedars  for  over 
a  year,  while  clearing  up  a  farm.  The  tree  was  hollow 
at  the  ground,  the  cavity  measuring  twenty-two  feet 
in  the  clear  and  running  up  to  a  knot  hole  about 
forty  feet  above.  The  homesteader  laid  a  fioor  in 
the  hollow,  seven  or  eight  feet  above  the  ground,  and 


40  CRUISINGS   IT^  THE   CASCADES 

placed  a  ladder  against  the  wall  by  which  to  go  up 
and  down.  On  the  floor  he  built  a  stone  flreplace, 
and  from  it  to  the  knot  hole  above  a  stick  and  clay 
chimney.  He-  lived  iips'  airs  and  kept  his  horse  and 
cow  downstairs.  It  may  be  well  to  explain  that  he 
was  a  bachelor,  and  thus  save  the  reader  any  anxiety 
as  to  how  his  wife  and  children  liked  the  situation. 

The  "  Sumas  Sapling"  stands  near  Sumas  Lake^ 
northeast  of  Seattle.  It  is  a  hollow  cedar,  twenty- 
three  feet  in  the  clear,  on  the  ground,  and  is  esti- 
mated to  be  fifteen  feet  in  diameter  twenty  feet 
above  the  ground.  I  have,  in  several  instances, 
counted  more  than  a  hundred  of  these  mammoth 
trees  on  an  acre  of  land,  and  am  informed  that 
one  tract  has  been  cut  off  that  yielded  over  1,000,000 
feet  of  lumber  i3er  acre.  In  this  case  tlie  trees  stood 
so  close  together  that  many  of  the  stumps  had  to  be 
dug  out,  after  the  trees  had  been  felled,  before  the 
logs  could  be  gotten  out.  The  system  of  logging  in 
vogue  here  differs  widely  from  that  practiced  in 
Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Maine,  and  elsewhere.  No 
snow  or  ice  are  required  here,  and,  in  fact,  if  snow 
falls  to  any  considerable  depth  while  crews  are  in 
the  woods  a  halt  is  called  until  it  goes  off. 

Corduroy  roads  are  built  into  the  timber  as  fast 
as  required,  on  which  the  teams  travel,  so  that  it  is  not 
necessary  that  the  ground  should  be  even  frozen. 
Skids,  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  thick,  are  laid  across 
these  roads,  about  nine  feet  apart,  and  sunk  into  the 
ground  so  as  to  project  about  six  inches  above  the 
surface  ;  the  bark  is  peeled  off  the  top,  they  are  kept 
greased,  and  the  logs  are  "  snaked"  over  them  with 
four  to  seven  yoke  of  cattle,  as  may  be  required.. 


AXD   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVE:XTURES. 


41 


The  wealthier  operators  use  steam  locomotives  and 
cars,  building  tracks  into  the  timber  as  fast  and  as 
far  as  needed.  This  great  timber  belt  is  co-extensive 
with  Puget  Sound,  the  Straits  of  Georgia,  and  the 
Cascade  Mountains.  I  believe  that  at  the  present 
rate  at  which  lumber  is  being  consumed,  there  is  tir, 
pine,  and  cedar  enough  in  Washington  Territory  and 
British  Columbia  to  last  the  world  a  thousand  years. 


"^^^     ^ 


•    CHAPTER  ly. 


^UGET  SOUND  is  a  great  inland 
sea,  extending  nearly  200  miles 
from  the  ocean,  having  a  sur- 
face of  about  2,000  square  miles, 
and  a  shore  line  of  1,594  miles, 
indented  with  numerous  bays,  harbors,  and  inlets, 
each  with  its  xjeculiar  name  ;  and  it  contains  numer- 
ous islands  inhabited  by  farmers,  lumbermen,  herds- 
men, and  those  engaged  in  quarrying  lime  and  build- 
ing stone.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  beauty  of  these 
waters  and  their  safety.  Not  a  slioal  exists  within 
the  Sound,  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  Admiralty 
Bay,  Hood's  Canal,  or  the  Straits  of  Georgia,  that 
would  in  any  way  interrupt  their  navigation  by  a 
seventy- four-gun  ship.  There  is  no  country  in  the 
world  that  possesses  waters  equal  to  these.  The 
shores  of  all  the  inlets  and  bays  are  remarkab'ybold, 
so  much  so  that  a  ship's  side  would  touch  the 
shore  before  her  keel  would  touch  the  ground.  The 
country  by  which  these  waters  are  surrounded  has 
a  remarkably  salubrious  climate. 

The  region  affords  every  advantage  for  the  accom- 
modation of  a  vast  commercial  and  military  marine, 
with  conveniences  for  docks,  and  there  are  a  great 
many  sites  for  towns  and  cities,  which  at  all  times 
would  be  well  supplied  with  water,  and  the  sur- 
rounding country,  which  is  well  adapted  to  agricult- 

(42) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTIXa   ADVENTURES.  43 

lire,  would  supply  all  the  wants  of  a  large  population. 
JSTo  part  of  the  world  affords  finer  islands,  sounds, 
or  a  greater  number  of  harbors  than  are  found  within 
these  waters.  They  are  capable  of  receiving  the 
largest  class  of  vessels,  and  are  without  a  single  hid- 
den danger.  From  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  (18 
feet),  every  facility  is  afforded  for  the  erection  of 
works  for  a  great  maritime  nation.  The  rivers  also 
furnish  hundi'eds  of  sites  for  water-power  for  manu- 
facturing purposes.  On  this  Sound  are  already  situ- 
ated many  thriving  towns  and  cities,  besides  those 
already  mentioned,  bidding  for  the  commerce  of  the 
world. 

The  flora  of  the  Sound  region  is  varied  and  inter- 
esting. A  saturated  atmosphere,  constantly  in  con- 
tact with  the  Coast  Eange  system  of  ui)heaval,  to- 
gether with  the  warm  temperature,  induces  a  growth 
of  vegetation  almost  tropical  in  its  luxuriance.  On 
the  better  soils,  the  shot-clay  hills  and  uplands,  and 
on  the  alluvial  plains  and  river  bottoms,  grow  the 
great  trees,  already  mentioned,  and  many  other 
species  of  almost  equal  beauty,  though  of  no  commer- 
cial value. 

"The  characteristic  shrubs  are  the  cornels  and  the 
spiraeas,  many  species.  These,  with  the  low  thickets 
oisalsil  (Gaultheria  shallon),  Oregon  grape  (berries), 
and  fern  (chiefly  pteris,  which  is  the  most  abundant), 
and  the  tangle  of  the  trailing  blackberry  {Ruhus 
pedatus)  make  the  forests  almost  impenetrable  save 
where  the  ax  or  the  wild  beast  or  the  wilder  fire  have 
left  their  trails. 

"The  dense  shade  of  the  forest  gives  little  oppor- 
tunity for  th&  growth   of  the  more  lowly  herbs. 


(44) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  45 

Where  the  fire  has  opened  these  shades  to  the  light 
tlie  almost  universal  lire  weed  {epilohiiim)  and  the 
lovely  brown  fire-moss  {fiinaria)  abound.  In  swamj)s 
and  lowlands  the  combustion  of  decay,  almost  as 
quick  and  effective  as  fire  itself,  opens  large  sj)aces 
to  the  light ;  and  here  abound  chiefly  the  skunk 
cabbage  of  the  Pacific  coast  (lysichiton)  and  many 
forms  of  the  lovliest  mosses,  grown  beyond  belief 
save  by  those  who  have  looked  upon  their  troi)ical 
congeners.  Hypmims  and  Mniums  make  the  great 
mass  which  meet  the  eye  ;  and  among  the  many  less 
obvious  forms  a  careful  search  will  reveal  many 
species  characteristic  of  this  coast  alone.  The  lower 
forms  of  the  cryptogams,  the  lichens  and  the  fungi, 
abound  in  greatest  profusion  as  might  be  exj^ected. 
The  chief  interest  in  these,  in  the  present  state  of  our 
knowledge  of  them,  springs  from  their  disposition 
to  invade  the  more  valuable  forms  of  vegetation 
which  follow  advancing  civilization." 

I  measured  one  fungus,  which  I  found  growing  upon 
the  decaying  trunk  of  a  mammoth  fir,  that  was  thir- 
teen inches  thick  and  thirty-four  inches  wide.  I  have 
frequently  seen  mosses  growing  on  rotten  logs,  in 
the  deep  shades  of  these  lonely  forests,  that  were 
twelve  to  sixteen  inches  deep,  and  others  hanging 
from  branches  overhead  three  feet  or  more  in  length. 
There  are  places  in  these  dense  forests  where  the  trees 
stand  so  close  and  their  branches  are  so  intertwined 
that  the  sun's  raj^s  never  reach  the  ground,  and  have 
not,  perhaps  for  centuries  ;  and  it  is  but  natural  that 
these  shade  and  moisture  loving  plants  should  grow 
to  great  size  in  such  places. 

The  fauna  of  this  Territory  includes  the  elk,  black- 


46  'CRUISINGS  IIS"  THE  CASCADES 

tailed  deer,  Cervus  columhianus ;  the  mule-deer, 
Cervus  macrotus ;  the  Yirginia  deer,  Cervus  virgin- 
ianvs ;  the  caribou,  the  Rocky  Mountain  goat^ 
Rocky  Mountain  sheep,  the  grizzly  and  black  bear. 
Among  the  smaller  mammals  there  are  the  raccoon, 
the  cougar,  wild  cat,  gray  wolf,  black  wolf,  prairie 
wolf  or  coyote,  gray  and  red  fox,  fisher,  mink, 
martin,  oeaver,  otter,  sea  otter,  red  squirrel,  ermine,, 
muskrat,  sea  lion,  fur  and  hair  seals,  wolverine,, 
skunk,  badger,  iDorcupine,  marmot,  swamp  hare, 
jack-rabbit,  etc.  Of  birds  and  wild  fowls  there  is. 
a  long  list,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  several 
varieties  of  geese  and  brant,  including  the  rare  and 
toothsome  black  brant,  which  in  season  hovers  in 
black  clouds  about  the  sand  spits  ;  the  canvas  back, 
red  head,  blue  bill,  teal,  widgeon,  shoveler,  and  vari- 
ous other  ducks  ;  ruffed,  pinnated,  and  blue  grouse  ;. 
various  snipes  and  j)lovers ;  eagles,  hawks,  owls^ 
woodpeckers,  jays,  magpies,  nuthatches,  warblers, 
sparrows,  etc.  There  are  many  varieties  of  game  and 
food  fishes  in  the  Sound  and  its  tributaries,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  salmon  and  trout  already  mentioned. 
In  short,  this  whole  country  is  a  paradise  for  the 
sportsman  and  the  naturalist,  whatever  the  specialty 
of  either. 

We  left  Seattle,  e7i  route  for  Victoria,  at  seven 
o'clock  on  a  bright,  crisp  November  morning.  The 
air  was  still,  the  bay  was  like  a  sheet  of  glass,  and 
only  long,  low  swells  were  running  outside.  We 
had  a  charming  view  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  to 
the  east  and  the  Olympics  to  the  west,  all  day.  The 
higher  peaks  were  covered  with  snow,  and  the  sun- 
light glinted  and  shimmered  across  them  in  playful^ 


AND   OTHEK  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  47 

cheery  mood.  Deep  shadows  fell  athwart  dark 
canons,  in  whose  gloomy  depths  we  felt  sure  herds, 
of  elk  and  deer  were  nipping  the  tender  herbage, 
and  along  whose  raging  ri\^ers  sundry  bears  were 
doubtless  breakfasting  on  salmon  straight.  Old 
Mount  Baker' s  majestic  head,  rising  10,800  feet  above 
us  and  only  fifty  miles  away,  was  the  most  prom- 
inent object  in  the  gorgeous  landscape,  and  one  on 
which  we  never  tired  of  gazing.  We  had  only  to 
cast  our  eyes  from  the  grand  scene  ashore  to  that 
at  our  feet,  and  vice  versa,  to — 

"  See  the  mountains  kiss  high  heaven, 
And  the  waves  clasp  one  another." 

A  large  colony  of  gulls  followed  the  steamer,  with 
ceaseless  beat  of  downy  wings,  from  daylight  till  dark, 
and  after  the  first  hour  they  seemed  to  regard  us  as> 
old  friends.  They  hovered  about  the  deck  like 
winged  spirits  around  a  lost  child.  Strange  bird 
thus  to  poise  with  tireless  wing  over  this  watery 
waste  day  after  day!  Near  the  route  of  the  vessel 
one  of  the  poor  creatures  lay  dead,  drifting  sadly 
and  alone  on  the  cold  waves.  Mysterious  creature^ 
with — 

"  Lack  lustre  eye,  and  idle  wing, 

And  smirched  breast  that  skims  no  more, 

Hast  thou  not  even  a  grave 
Upon  the  dreary  slioi  e, 

Forlorn,  forsaken  thing?" 

Our  feathered  fellow-passengers  greeted  us  with, 
plaintive  cries  whenever  we  stepped  out  of  the  cabin, 
dropping  into  the  water  in  pursuit  of  every  stray 
bit  of  food  that  was  thrown  overboard  from  the  cook- 
room.     My  wife  begged  several  plates  of  stale  bread 


48 


CRUISINaS  IIT  THE  CASCADES 


from  tli8  steward,  and,  breaking  it  into  small  pieces, 
threw  liandf  als  at  a  time  into  the  water. 

Twenty  or  thirty  of  the  birds  would  drop  in  a  bunch 
where  the  bread  fell,  and  a  lively  scramble  would 
ensue  for  the  coveted  food.  The  lucky  ones  would 
quickly  corral  it,  however,   when  the  whole  Hight, 


OUR  FEATHERED  FELLOW-PASSENGERS. 

rising  again,  would  follow  and  soon  overtake  the 
vessel.  Then  they  would  cluster  around  their  patron, 
cooing,  and  coaxing  for  more  of  the  welcome  bounty. 
I  took  out  my  detective  camera  and  made  a  number 
of  exposures  on  the  gulls,  which  resulted  very  satis- 
factorily. Many  of  the  prints  show  them  sadly  out 
of  focus,  but  this  was  unavoidable,  as  I  focused  at 


a:n^d  other  hunting  adventures.  49 

twenty  feet,  and  of  course  all  that  were  nearer  or 
farther  away,  at  the  instant  of  exposure,  are  not 
sharp.  Many,  however,  that  were  on  wing  at  the 
time  of  making  the  exposure,  and  at  the  proper  dis- 
tance from  the  lens,    are  clearly  and  sharply  cut. 

These  pictures  form  a  most  interesting  study  for 
artists,  anatomists,  naturalists,  and  others,  the 
wings  being  shown  in  every  position  assumed  by  the 
birds  in  flight.  The  shutter  worked  at  so  high  a 
pressure  that  only  one  or  tw^o  birds  in  the  entire 
series  show  any  movement  at  all,  and  they  are  but 
very  slightly  blurred.  When  we  consider  that  the 
steamer,  as  well  as  the  gulls,  was  in  motion — run- 
ning ten  miles  an  hour — trembling  and  vibrating 
from  stem  to  stern,  and  that,  in  many  cases,  the 
birds  were  going  in  an  opposite  direction  from  that 
of  the  vessel,  the  results  obtained  are  certainly  mar- 
velous. It  may  interest  some  of  my  readers  to 
know  that  I  used  an  Anthony  detective  camera, 
making  a  four-by-five-inch  picture,  to  which  is  fitted 
a  roll  holder,  and  in  all  the  work  done  on  this  trip, 
I  used  negative  paper.  I  also  obtained,  en  route, 
several  good  views  of  various  islands,  and  points  of 
interest  on  the  mainland,  while  the  boat  was  in 
motion. 

There  are  many  beautiful  scenes  in  and  about  the 
Sound;  many  charming  islands,  clothed  in  evergreen 
foliage,  from  whose  interiors  issue  clear,  sparkling 
brooks  of  fresh  water;  while  the  mainland  shores 
rise  abruptly,  in  places,  to  several  hundreds  of  feet, 
bearing  their  burdens  of  giant  trees.  There  are  per- 
pendicular cut  banks  on  many  of  the  islands  and 
the  mainland  shores,  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  feet  high, 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  51 

almost  perpendicular,  made  so  by  the  hungry  waves 
having  eaten  away  their  foundations,  and  the  earth 
having  fallen  into  the  brine,  leaving  exposed  bare 
walls  of  sand  and  gravel.  On  Whidby  Island,  one 
of  the  largest  in  the  Sound,  there  was,  up  to  a  few 
years  ago,  a  herd  of  wild  cattle,  to  which  no  one 
made  claim  of  ownership,  and  which  were,  conse- 
quently, considered  legitimate  game  for  anyone 
who  cared  to  hunt  them.  They  were  wary  and  cun- 
ning in  the  extreme.  The  elk  or  deer,  native  and  to 
the  manor  born,  could  not  be  more  so.  But,  alas, 
these  cattle  were  not  to  be  the  prey  of  true^  consci- 
entious sportsmen;  for  the  greed  of  the  market 
hunter  and  the  skin  hunter  exceeded  the  natural 
cunning  of  the  noble  animals,  and  they  have  been 
nearly  exterminated;  only  ten  or  twelve  remain,  and 
they  will  soon  have  to  yield  up  their  lives  to  the 
insatiable  greed  of  those  infamous  butchers. 

One  of  the  most  curious  and  interesting  points  in 
the  sound  is  Deception  Pass.  This  is  a  narrow  chan- 
nel or  passage  between  two  islands,  only  fifty  yards 
wide,  and  about  two  hundred  yards  long.  On  either 
side  rise  abrupt  and  towering  columns  of  basaltic  rock, 
and  during  both  ebb  and  flow  the  tide  runs  through 
it,  between  Padilla  and  Dugalla  Bays,  with  all  the 
wild  fury  and  bewildering  speed  of  the  maelstrom. 
This  pass  takes  its  name  from  the  fact  of  there 
being  three  coves  near — on  the  west  coast  of 
Whidby  Island — that  look  so  much  like  Deception 
that  they  are  often  mistaken  for  it  at  night  or  dur- 
ing foggy  weather,  even  by  experienced  navigators. 
All  the  skill  and  care  of  the  best  pilots  are  required 
to  make  the  pass  in  safety,  and  the  bravest  of  them 


52  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES. 

heave  a  sigh  of  relief  when  once  its  beetling  cliffs 
and  seething  abysses  are  far  astern.  Gulls  hover 
about  this  weird  place,  and  eagles  soar  above  it  at  all 
hours,  as  if  admiring  its  pristine  beauties,  yet  in 
superstitious  awe  of  the  dark  depths.  Mount  Erie, 
two  miles  away,  rising  to  a  height  of  1, 300  feet,  casting 
its  deep  shadows  across  the  pass  and  surrounding 
waters,  completes  a  picture  of  rare  beauty  and 
grandeur. 

We  reached  Victoria,  that  quaint,  old,  aristocratic, 
ultra-English  town,  just  as  the  sun  was  sinking 
beneath  the  waves,  that  rolled  restlessly  on  the  surface 
of  Juan  de  Fuca  Strait.  We  were  surprised  to  see 
so  substantial  and  well-built  a  town  as  this,  and 
one  possessing  so  much  of  the  air  of  age  and  inde- 
pendence, so  far  north  and  west.  One  might  readily 
imagine,  from  the  exterior  appearance  of  the  city 
and  its  surroundings,  that  he  were  in  the  province 
of  Quebec  instead  of  that  of  British  Columbia.  My 
wife  felt  that  she  must  not  remain  longer  away  from 
home  at  present,  and  we  w^ere  to  part  here;  there- 
fore, in  the  early  morning  she  embarked  for  home, 
while  I  transferred  my  effects  and  self  to  the  steamer 
Princess  Louise,  bound  for  Burrard  Inlet. 


CHAPTER  V. 

daylight  in  the  morning  we  entered  English 
Bay,  having  crossed  the  strait  during  the 
night.    The  sun  climbed  up  over  the  snow- 
mantled  mountains  into  a  cloudless  sky, 
and  his  rays  were  reflected  from  the  limpid, 
tranquil  surface  of  the  bay: 

"  Blue,  d'^rkly,  deeply,  beautifully  blue," 

as  if  from  the  face  of  a  mirror.  A  few 
miles  to  the  east,  the  triple-mouthed  Frazer 
empties  its  great  volume  of  fresh,  cold,  glacier- 
tinted  fluid  into  the  briny  inland  sea,  and  its 
delta,  level  as  a  floor,  stretches  back  many  miles 
on  either  side  of  the  river  to  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Cascades.  Thousands  of  ducks  sat  idly  and  lazily 
in  the  water,  sunning  themselves,  pruning  their 
feathers,  and  eyeing  us  curiously  but  fearlessly, 
as  we  passed,  sometimes  within  twenty-five  or 
thirty  yards  of  them.  A  few  geese  crossed  hither 
and  thither,  in  low,  long,  dark  lines,  uttering  their 
familiar .  honk,  lionk;  but  they  were  more  wary 
than  their  lesser  cousins,  and  kept  well  out  of  range. 
I  asked  the  purser  if  there  was  any  rule  against 
shooting  on  board,  and  he  said  no;  to  go  down  on 
the  after  main  deck,  and  shoot  until  I  was  tired.  I 
took  my  Winchester  express  from  the  case,  went 
below  and  opened  on  the  ducks.    They  at  once  found 

(53) 


54  CRUISINGS  IN  THE   CASCADES 

it  necessary  to  get  out  of  the  country,  and  their 
motion,  and  that  of  the  vessel  combined,  caused  me 
to  score  several  close  misses,  but  I  finally  found  the 
bull's-eye,  so  to  speak,  and  killed  three  in  rapid  suc- 
cession.    Then  the  mate  came  down  and  said: 

''We  don't  allow  no  one  to  be  firin'  off  guns  on 
board." 

"I  have  the  purser's  permission,"  I  said.  n 
"  Well,"  he  replied,  "  the  captain's  better  author- 
ity than  the  purser  on  this  here  boat,"  whereupon 
he  returned  to  the  cabin  deck,  and  so  did  I.  I  was 
not  seriously  disappointed,  however,  for  I  cared 
little  for  the  duck  shooting;  I  was  in  quest  of  larger 
game,  and  only  wanted  to  practice  a  little,  to  renew 
acquaintance  and  familiarity  with  my  weai3on. 
Early  in  the  day  we  entered  Burrard  Inlet,  a  narrow, 
crooked,  and  peculiarly  shaped  arm  of  the  salt  water, 
that  winds  and  threads  its  way  many  miles  back 
into  the  mountains,  so  narrow  in  places,  that  a  boy 
may  cast  a  stone  across  it,  and  yet  so  deep  as  to  be 
navigable  for  the  largest  ocean  steamship.  The  inlet 
is  so  narrow  and  crooked  that  a  stranger,  sailing  into 
it  for  the  first  time,  would  x)ronounce  it  a  great  river 
coming  down  from  the  mountains.  Through  this 
picturesque  body  of  water  our  good  boat  cleft  the 
shadows  of  the  overhanging  mountains  until  nearly 
noon,  when  we  landed  at  Vancouver,  the  terminus 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  In  consequence  of 
this  important  selection,  the  place  is  a  busy  mart  of 
trade.  The  clang  of  saw  and  hammer,  the  rattle  of 
wheels,  the  general  din  of  a  building  boom,  are  such 
as  to  tire  one's  nerves  in  a  few  hours.  Later  in  the 
day  we  reached  Port  Moody.     This  town  was  origi- 


AND    OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES  55 

nally  designated  as  the  tide-water  terminus  of  the 
road,  and  had  its  brief  era  of  prosperity  and  specu- 
lation in  consequence;  but  now  that  the  plan  has 
been  changed  it  has  been  reduced  to  a  mere  way 
station,  and  has  relapsed  into  the  dullest  kind  of 
dullness. 

From  here  I  staged  across  the  divide  to  New 
Westminster,  on  the  Frazer  river,  the  home  of  Mr. 
J.  C.  Hughs,  who  had  invited  me  there  to  hunt 
Rocky  Mountain  goats  with  him.  I  was  grieved 
beyond  measure,  however,  to  learn  on  my  arrival  that 
he  was  dangerously  ill,  and  went  at  once  to  his 
house,  but  he  was  unable  to  see  me.  He  sank  rapidly 
from  the  date  of  his  first  illness,  died  two  days  after 
my  arrival,  and  I  therefore  found  myself  in  a  strange 
land,  with  no  friend  or  acquaintance  to  whom  I 
could  go  for  information  or  advice. 

My  first  object,  therefore,  was  to  find  a  guide  to  take 
me  into  the  mountains,  and  although  I  found  several 
pretended  sportsmen,  I  could  hear  of  no  one  who  had 
ever  killed  a  goat,  except  poor  Hughs,  and  a  Mr. 
Fannin,  who  had  formerly  lived  there,  but  had  lately 
moved  away,  so  of  course  no  one  knew  where  I  could 
get  a  guide.  Several  business  men,  of  whom  I  asked 
information,  inquired  at  once  where  I  w^as  from,  and 
on  learning  that  I  was  an  American,  simply  said  ' '  I 
don't  know,"  and  were,  or  at  least  pretended  to  be, 
too  busy  to  talk  with  me.  They  seemed  to  have  no 
use  for  people  from  this  side  of  the  boundary  line, 
and  this  same  ill-feeling  tov/ard  my  Nation  (with  a 
big  N)  was  shown  me  in  other  places,  and  on  various 
occasions,  while  in  the  province.  I  found,  however, 
•one  gracious  exception,  in  New  Westminster,  in  the 


66  CRUISIJ^GS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

person  of  Mr.  C.  G.  Major,  a  merchant,  who,  the  mo- 
ment I  made  known  to  him  my  wish,  replied: 

"Well,  sir,  the  best  guide  and  the  best  hunter  in 
British  Columbia  left  here  not  three  minutes  ago. 
He  is  an  Indian  who  lives  on  Douglass  Lake,  and  I 
think  I  can  get  him  for  you.  If  I  can,  you  are  fixed 
for  a  good  and  successful  hunt." 

This  news,  and  the  frank,  manly,  cordial  greeting 
that  came  with  it,  were  surprising  to  me,  after  the 
treatment  I  had  been  receiving.  Mr.  Major  invited 
me  into  his  private  office,  gave  me  a  chair  by  the  fire, 
and  sent  out  a  messenger  to  look  for  ' '  Douglass  Bill," 
the  Indian  of  whom  he  had  spoken.  This  important 
personage  soon  came  in.  Mr.  Major  told  him  what 
I  wanted,  and  it  took  but  a  few  minutes  to  make 
a  bargain.  He  was  a  solid,  well-built  Indian,  had 
an  intelligent  face,  spoke  fair  English,  and  had  the 
reputation  of  being,  as  Mr.  Major  had  said,  an  excel- 
lent hunter.  Mr.  Major  further  said  he  considered 
Bill  one  of  the  most  honest,  truthful  Indians  he  had 
ever  known,  and  that  I  could  trust  him  as  implicitly 
as  I  could  any  white  man  in  the  country. 

This  arrangement  was  made  on  Saturday  night, 
but  Bill  said  lie  could  not  start  on  the  hunt  until 
Wednesday  morning,  as  his  mother-in-law  had  just 
died,  and  he  must  go  and  help  to  bury  her  on  Tues- 
day. The  funeral  was  to  take  ]3lace  on  the  Chiluk- 
weyuk  river,  a  tributary  of  the  Frazer,  about  fifty 
miles  above  New  Westminster,  and  it  was  arranged 
that  I  should  go  up  on  the  steamer,  and  meet  him  at 
the  mouth  of  Harrison  river,  another  tributary 
stream,  on  Wednesday  morning.  We  were  then  to 
go  up  the  Harrison  to  the  hunting  grounds.      I  was. 


AXD   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


57 


delighted  at  the  prospect  of  a  successful  hunt,  with 
so  good  a  guide,  and  cheerfully  consented  to  wait 
the  necessary  three  days  for  the  red  man  to  perform 
the  last  sad  rites  of  his  tribe  over  the  remains  of 
the  departed  kloochman,  but  I  was  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment. 


A  VIEW  ON  THE  FRAZER. 

(58) 


CHAPTER  YI. 

pR  many  years  I  had  read,  heard,  and 
dreamed  of  the  Frazer,  that  mysterious 
stream  which  flows  out  from  among 
the  icy  fastnesses  of  the  Cascades,  in 
the  far-off  confines  of  British  Columbia. 
For  many  years  had  I  longed  to  see 
with  my  own  eyes  some  of  the  grand 
scenery  of  the  region  it  drains,  and  now, 
at  last,  that  mighty  stream  flowed  at  my 
feet.  How  eagerly  I  drank  in  the  beauty  of 
the  scene  !  How  my  heart  thrilled  at  the 
thought  that  I  stood  face  to  face  with  this  land 
of  my  dreams  and  was  about  to  explore  a  portion, 
at  least,  of  the  country  in  which  this  great  river 
rises.  The  beautiful  lines  penned  by  Maria  Brooks, 
on  the  occasion  of  her  first  visit  to  the  St.  Law- 
rence, came  vividly  to  my  mind  : 

"The  first  time  I  beheld  thee,  beauteous  stream, 

How  pure,  how  smooth,  how  broad  thy  bosom  heaved; 
What  feelings  rushed  upon  my  heart!  a  gleam 
As  of  another  life  my  kindling  soul  received." 

I  left  New  Westminster  at  seven  o'clock  Monday 
morning  on  the  steamer  Adelaide,  for  the  mouth  of 
Harrison  river,  sixty  miles  up  the  Frazer.  There 
were  over  twenty  Indians  on  board,  going  up  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Chilukweyuk,  to  attend  the  funeral  of 
Douglass  Bill's  deceased  relative.     As    soon  as  I 

"(59) 


60  CRUISINGS  IN  THE   CASCADES 

learned  tlieir  destination  I  inquired  if  he  were 
among  tliem,  but  they  said  he  was  not.  He  had 
come  aboard  before  we  left,  but  for  some  reason  had 
decided  to  go  on  another  boat  that  left  half  an  hour 
ahead  of  the  Adelaide.  The  voyage  proved  intensely 
interesting.  The  Frazer  is  from  a  quarter  to  half  a 
mile  wide,  and  is  navigable  for  large  steamers  for  a 
hundred  miles  above  its  mouth.  There  are  portions 
of  the  valley  that  are  fertile,  thickly  settled,  and 
well  cultivated.  The  valleys  of  some  of  its  tribu- 
taries are  also  good  fanning  districts,  and  grain, 
fruits,  and  vegetables  of  various  kinds  grow  in 
abundance.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Chilukweyuk  I 
saw  fine  peaches  that  had  grown  in  the  valley,  with- 
in ten  miles  of  perpetual  snow.  The  river  became 
very  crooked  as  we  neared  the  mountains,  and 
finally  we  entered  the  gorge,  or  canon,  where  the 
rocky-faced  mountains  rise,  sheer  from  the  water's 
edge,  to  heights  of  many  hundreds  of  feet,  and  just 
back  of  them  tower  great  peaks,  clad  in  eternal 
snows.  The  little  camera  was  again  brought  into 
requisition  and,  as  we  rounded  some  of  these  pic- 
turesque bends  and  traversed  some  of  the  beautiful 
reaches,  I  secured  many  good  views,  though  the  day 
was  cloudy  and  lowery.  The  boat  being  in  motion, 
I  was,  of  course,  compelled  to  make  the  shortest 
possible  exposures,  and  was,  therefore,  unable  to  get 
fine  details  in  the  shadows;  yet  many  of  the  prints 
turned  out  fairly  well. 

We  saw  several  seals  in  the  river  on  the  way  up, 
and  the  captain  informed  me  that  at  certain  seasons 
they  were  quite  plentiful  in  the  Frazer  and  all  the 
larger  streams  in  the  neighborhood.     They  go  up 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  61 

the  Frazer  to  the  head  of  navigation  and  he  could 
not  say  how  much  farther.  He  said  that  on  one 
occasion  a  female  seal  and  her  young  were  seen 
sporting  in  the  water  ahead  of  the  steamer,  and  that 
when  the  vessel  came  within  about  fifty  yards  they 
dove.  Nothing  more  was  seen  of  the  puppy,  and 
the  captain  thought  it  must  have  been  caught  in 
the  wheel  and  killed,  for  the  mother  followed  the 
vessel  several  miles,  whining,  looking  longingly, 
pitifully,  and  beseechingly  at  the  passengers  and 
crew.  She  would  swim  around  and  around  the 
steamer,  coming  close  up,  showing  no  fear  for  her 
own  safety,  whatever,  but  seeming  to  beg  them  to 
give  back  her  baby.  She  appeared  to  have  lost  sight 
of  it  entirely,  whatever  its  fate,  and  to  think  it  had 
been  captured  and  taken  on  board.  Her  moaning 
and  begging,  her  intense  grief,  were  pitiable  in  the 
extreme,  and  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  stout, 
brawny  men.  Finally  she  seemed  completely 
exhausted  with  anguish  and  her  exertions  and  grad- 
ually sank  out  of  sight.  My  informant  said  he 
hoped  never  to  witness  another  such  sight. 

We  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Harrison  river  at  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  There  is  a  little  Indian  vil- 
lage there  called  by  the  same  name  as  the  river,  and 
Mr.  J.  Barker  keeps  a  trading  post  on  the  reserva- 
tion, he  being  the  only  white  man  living  there.  He 
made  me  welcome  to  the  best  accommodations  his 
bachelor  quarters  afforded,  but  said  the  only  sleep- 
ing-room he  had  was  full,  as  two  friends  from  down 
the  river  were  stopping  with  him  for  the  night,  and 
that  I  would  have  to  lodge  with  one  of  the  Indian 
families.     He  said  there  was  one  Moochman  (the 


63  CRLTISINGS   IX  THE  CASCADES 

Chinook  word  for  squaw)  who .  was  a  remarkably 
neat,  cleanly  housekeeper,  who  had  a  spare  room, 
and  who  usually  kept  any  strangers  that  wished  to 
stop  over  night  in  the  village.  While  we  were  talk- 
ing the  squaw  in  question  came  in  and  Mr.  Barker 
said  to  her: 

"Mary,  yah-kwa  Boston  man  tik-eli  moo-sum 
me-si-ka  house  po-lak-le."  (Here  is  an  American 
who  would  like  to  sleep  in  your  house  to-night.) 
To  which  she  replied: 

"  Yak-ka  hy-ak  "  (lie  can  come),  and  the  bargain 
was  closed. 

I  remained  at  the  store  and  talked  with  Mr. 
Barker  and  his  friends  until  ten  o'  clock,  when  he 
took  a  lantern  and  piloted  me  over  to  the  Indian 
rancherie,  where  I  was  to  lodge.  I  took  my  sleeping- 
bag  with  me  and  thanked  my  stars  that  I  did,  for 
notwithstanding  the  assurances  given  me  by  good 
Mr.  Barker  that  the  Indian  woman  was  as  good  a 
housekeeper  as  the  average  white  w^oman,  I  was 
afraid  of  vermin.  I  have  never  known  an  Indian  to 
be  without  the  hemipterous  little  insect,  Pediculus 
{humanus)  capitis.  Possibly  there  may  be  some 
Indians  who  do  not  wear  them;  I  simply  say  I  have 
never  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  one,  and  I  have 
known  a  great  many,  too.  I  seriously  doubt  if  one 
has  ever  yet  lived  many  days  at  a  time  devoid  of  the 
companionship  of  these  pestiferous  little  creatures. 
In  fact,  an  Indian  and  a  louse  are  natural  allies — 
boon  companions — and  are  as  inseparable  as  the 
boarding-house  bed  and  the  bedbug.  The  red  man 
is  so  inured  to  the  ravages  of  his  parasitic  com- 
panion,   so     accustomed    to    have     him     rustling 


AXD    OTHER   HUNTING    ADVENTUKES.  63 

around  on  liis  i^erson  and  foraging  for  grub,  that  he 
paj^s  little  or  no  attention  to  the  insect,  and  seems 
hardly  to  feel  its  bite. 

You  will  rarely  see  an  Indian  scratch  his  head  or, 
in  fact,  any  portion  of  his  person,  as  a  white  man 
does  when  he  gets  a  bite.  Lo  gives  forth  no  outward 
sign  that  he  is  thickly  settled,  and  it  is  only  when 
he  sits  or  lies  down  in  the  hot  sun  that  the  inhab- 
itants of  his  hair  and  clothing  come  to  the  front; 
then  you  may  see  them  crawling  about  like  roaches 
in  a  hotel  kitchen.  Or,  when  he  has  lain  down  on  a 
board,  or  your  tent  canvas,  or  any  light-colored  sub- 
stance and  got  up  and  gone  away,  leaving  some  of 
his  neighbors  behind,  then  you  know  he  is — like 
others  of  his  race — the  home  of  a  large  colony  of 
insects. 

When  Mary  and  her  husband,  George,  saw  my 
roll  of  bedding,  which  they  sui3posed  to  be  simply 
blankets,  they  protested  to  Mr.  Barker  that  I  would 
not  need  them,  that  there  was  ^'hy-iu  mit-lite  pa- 
se-se  "  (plenty  of  covering  on  the  bed).  I  told  them, 
however,  that  I  could  sleep  better  in  my  own 
blankets  and  preferred  to-  use  them.  I  took  the 
bundle  into  my  room,  spread  the  sleeping-bag  on 
the  bed  and  crawled  into  it.  The  outer  covering  of 
the  bag  being  of  thick,  hard  canvas,  I  hoped  it 
would  prove  an  effectual  barrrier  against  the 
assaults  of  the  vermin,  and  that  they  might  not  find 
the  portal  by  which  I  entered,  and  so  it  jjroved. 

George  and  Mary  live  in  a  very  well-built,  comfort- 
able, one-story  frame  cottage,  divided  into  two  rooms; 
the  kitchen,  dining-room,  parlor  and  family  sleeping- 
room  all  in  one,    and  the  spare  room  being  the  other. 


64 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 


The  house  has  four  windows  and  one  door,  a  shingle 
roof  and  a  board  floor.  They  have  a  cooking-stove, 
several  chairs,  a  table,  cupboard,  etc.  The  bedstead 
on  which  I  slept  was  homemade,  but  neat  and  sub- 
stantial.    It  was  furnished  with  a  white  cotton  tick, 


GEORGE  AND  MARY. 

filled  with  straw,  feather  pillows,  several  clean-look- 
ing blankets,  and  a  pair  of  moderately  clean  cotton 
sheets.  I  have  slept  in  much  worse -looking  beds 
in  hotels  kept  by  white  people. 

This  Indian  village,  Harrison  river,  or  Skowlitz, 
as  the  Indians  call  both  the  river  and  the  village,  is 
composed  of  about  twenty  families,  living  in  houses 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  x\DVENTURES. 


65 


of  about  the  same  class  and  of  the  same  general  design 
as  the  one  described,  although  some  are  slightly 
larger  and  better,  while  others  are  not  quite  so  good. 
All  have  been  built  by  white  carpenters,  or  the 
greater  part  of  the  work  was  done  by  them,  and  the 
lumber  and  other  materials  were  manufactured  by 
white  men.  None  of  the  dwellings  have  ever  been 
painted  inside  or  out,  but  there  is  a  neat  mission 
church  in  the  village  that  has  been  honored  with  a 
coat  of  white  paint.  There  are  a  few  log  shacks 
standing  near,  that  look  very  much  as  if  they  had 
been  built  by  native  industry.  The  frame  houses,  I 
am  informed,  were  erected  by  the  Government  and 
the  church  by  the  Catholic  Missionary  Society. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


was  not 'compelled  to  eat  with  George  and 
Mary,  for  Mr.  Barker  liad  kindly  invited 
me  to  breakfast  with  him,  and  when  I 
reached  his  store,  at  the  breakfast  hour 
in  the  morning,  I  found  a  neat  inviting- 
looking  table  in  the  room  back  of  the 
store,  loaded  with  broiled  ham,  baked 
^potatoes,  good  bread  and  butter,  a  pot  of 
steaming  coffee,  etc.;  all  of  which  we 
enjoyed  intensely.  Mr.  Barker  informed 
me  there  was  a  cluster  of  hot  springs  ten  miles  up 
the  river,  at  the  foot  of  Harrison  Lake,  the  source  of 
Harrison  river,  near  which  a  large  hotel  had  lately 
been  built.  Upon  inquiry  as  to  a  means  of  getting 
up  there,  I  learned  that  he  had  employed  a  couple 
of  Indians  to  take  some  freight  up  that  morning  in 
a  canoe,  and  that  I  could  probably  secure  a  passage 
with  them.  As  Harrison  Lake,  or  rather  the  mount- 
ains surrounding  it,  were  the  hunting-grounds 
which  Douglass  Bill  had  selected,  and  as  we  would 
have  to  pass  these  hot  springs  en  route,  I  decided 
to  go  there  and  wait  for  him.  I  therefore  arranged 
with  Barker  to  send  him  up  to  the  springs,  when  he 
should  call  for  me  at  the  store,  and  took  passage 
in  the  freight  canoe. 

The  Harrison  river  is  a  large  stream  that  cuts  its 
way  through  high,  rugged  mountains,  and  the  water 

(66) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  67 

has  a  pronounced  milky  tinge  imparted  by  the  gla- 
ciers from  which  its  feeders  come,  away  back  in  the 
Cascades.  It  is  a  famous  salmon  stream,  and  thou- 
sands of  these  noble  fishes,  of  mammoth  size,  that 
had  lately  gone  up  the  river  and  into  the  small 
creeks  to  spawn,  having  died  from  disease,  or  hav- 
ing been  killed  in  the  terrible  rapids  they  had  to 
encounter,  were  lying  dead  on  every  sand  bar, 
lodged  against  every  stick  of  driftwood,  or  were 
slowly  floating  in  the  current.  Their  carcasses  lined 
the  shore  all  along  the  lower  portion  of  the  river, 
and  the  hogs,  of  which  the  Indians  have  large  num- 
bers, were  feasting  on  the  putrid  masses  as  vora- 
ciously as  if  they  had  been  ears  of  new,  sweet  corn. 
The  stench  emitted  by  these  festering  bodies  was 
nauseating  in  the  extreme;  and  the  water,  ordinarly 
so  pure  and  palatable,  was  now  totally  unfit  for  use. 
I  counted  over  one  hundred  of  these  dead  fishes  on  a 
single  sand  bar  of  less  than  half  an  acre  in  extent. 
Cruising  amid  such  surroundings  was  anything  but 
pleasant,  and  I  was  glad  the  current  was  slow  here 
so  that,  though  going  up  stream,  we  were  able  to 
make  good  progress,  and  soon  got  away  from  this 
nauseating  sight. 

About  a  mile  above  the  village  we  rounded  a  bend 
in  the  river,  where  it  spread  out  to  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  in  width,  and  on  a  sand  bar  in  the  middle 
of  the  stream,  sat  a  flock  of  geese.  I  picked  up  my 
rifle  and  took  a  shot  at  them,  but  the  ball  cut  a  ditch 
in  the  water  nearly  fifty  yards  this  side,  and  went 
singing  over  their  heads  into  the  woods  beyond. 
They  did  not  seem  (o  enjoy  such  music,  and  taking 
wing  started  for  some  safer  feeding-ground,  carrying 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  69 

on  a  lively  conversation  in  goose  Latin,  probably 
about  any  fool  who  would  try  to  kill  geese  at  that 
distance.  I  turned  loose  on  them  again,  and  in  about 
a  second  after  pulling  the  trigger  one  of  them  seemed 
to  explode,  as  if  hit  by  a  dynamite  bomb.  For  a  few 
seconds  the  air  was  full  of  fragments  of  goose,  which 
rained  down  into  the  water  like  a  shower  of  autumn 
leaves.  My  red  companions  enjoyed  the  result  of  this 
shot  hugely,  and  a  canoe  load  of  Indians  from  up 
river,  who  were  passing  at  the  time,  set  up  a  regular 
war  whoop.  We  pulled  over  and  got  what  was  left  of 
the  goose,  and  found  that  my  express  bullet  had 
carried  away  all  his  stern  rigging,  his  rudder,  one 
of  his  paddles,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  his 
hull.  The  water  was  covered  with  fragments  of  sail, 
provisions  of  various  kinds,  and  sundry  bits  of  cargo 
and  hull.  Charlie  picked  up  so  much  of  the  wreck 
as  hung  together,  and  said  in  his  broken,  laconic 
English: 

"  Dat  no  good  goose  gun.  Shoot  him  too  much 
away." 

There  were  plenty  ot  ducks,  coots,  grebes,  and 
gulls  on  the  river,  and  I  had  fine  sport  with  them 
whenever  I  cared  to  shoot. 

A  mile  above  where  I  killed  the  goose  we  entered 
a  long  reach  of  shoal  ra^Dids,  where  all  the  brawn 
and  skill  of  the  Indians  were  required  to  stem  the 
powerful  current  and  the  immense  volume  of  water. 
The  rapids  are  over  a  mile  long,  audit  took  us  nearly 
two  hours  to  reach  their  head.  As  soon  as  we  were 
well  into  them  we  came  among  large  numbers  of  live, 
healthy  salmon.  Many  of  them  were  running  down 
the  stream,  sonie  up,  while  others  seemed  not  to  be 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  71 

going  anywhere  in  particular,  but  just  loafing 
around,  enjoying  themselves.  They  were  wild,  but, 
owing  to  the  water  being  so  rough  and  rapid,  we 
frequently  got  within  two  or  three  feet  of  them 
before  they  saw  us,  and  the  Indians  killed  two  large 
ones  with  their  canoe  poles.  Occasionally  we  would 
corner  a  whole  school  of  them  in  some  little  pocket, 
where  the  water  was  so  shallow  that  their  dorsal  fins 
would  stick  out,  and  where  there  was  no  exit  but  by 
passing  close  to  the  canoe.  When  alarmed  they 
would  cavort  around  like  a  herd  of  wild  mustangs 
in  a  corral,  until  they  would  churn  the  water  into  a 
foam;  then,  emboldened  by  their  peril,  they  would 
flash  out  past  us  with  the  velocity  of  an  arrow. 
They  were  doing  a  great  deal  of  jumping;  frequently 
a  large  fish,  two  or  three  feet  long,  would  start  across 
the  stream,  and  make  four  or  five  long,  high  leaps 
out  of  the  water,  in  rapid  succession,  only  remain- 
ing in  the  water  long  enough  after  each  jump  to  gain 
momentum  for  the  next.  I  asked  Charlie  why  they 
were  doing  this,  if  they  were  sick,  or  if  something 
was  biting  them. 

"No,"  he  said.  "Play.  All  same  drunk— raise 
hell!" 

These  salmon  run  up  the  rivers  and  creeks  to 
deposit  their  spawn,  and  seem  possessed  of  an  insane 
desire  to  get  as  far  up  into  the  small  brooks  as  they 
possibly  can.  They  frequently  pursue  their  mad 
course  up  over  boiling,  foaming,  roaring  rapids,  and 
abrupt,  perpendicular  falls,  where  it  would  seem 
impossible  for  any  living  creature  to  go— regardless 
of  their  own  safety  or  comfort.  They  are  often  found 
in  dense  schools  in  little  creeks  away  up  near  their 


72  CRUISINGS   IIS^  THE  CASCADES 

sources,  where  there  is  not  water  enough  to  cover 
their  bodies,  and  where  they  become  an  easy  prey  to 
man,  or  to  wild  beasts.  In  such  cases,  Indians  kill 
them  with  sjjears  and  sharp  sticks,  or  even  catch  and 
throw  them  out  with  their  hands. 

Or  if  their  journeyings  take  them  among  farms  or 
ranches,  as  is  often  the  case,  the  people  throw  them 
out  on  the  banks  with  pitch-forks,  and  after  supply- 
ing their  household  necessities,  they  cart  the  noble 
fish  away  and  feed  them  to  their  hogs,  or  even  use 
them  to  fertilize  their  fields.  I  have  seen  salmon 
wedged  into  some  of  the  small  streams  until  you  could 
almost  walk  on  them.  The  banks  of  many  creeks, 
far  up  in  the  foot-hills,  are  almost  wholly  composed 
of  the  bones  of  salmon.  In  traveling  through  dense 
woods  I  have  often  heard,  at  some  distance  ahead,  - 
a  loud  splasliing  and  general  commotion  in  water, 
as  if  of  a  dozen  small  boys  in  bathing.  This  would, 
perhaps,  be  the  first  intimation  I  had  that  I  was  near 
water,. and,  on  approaching  the  source  of  the  noise, 
I  have  found  it  to  have  been  made  by  a  school  of 
these  lordly  salmon,  wedged  into  one  of  the  little 
streams,  thrashing  the  creek  into  suds  in  their  efforts 
to  get  to  its  Ijead. 

After  depositing  their  spawn  the  poor  creatures, 
already  half  dead  from  bruises  and  exhaustion 
incurred  in  their  perilous  voyage  up  stream,  begin  to 
drift  down.  But  how  different,  now,  from  the  bright, 
silvery  creatures  that  once  darted  like  rays  of  living 
light  through  the  sea.  Unable  to  control  their  move- 
ments in  the  descent,  even  as  well  as  in  the  ascent, 
they  drift  at  the  cruel  mercy  of  the  stream.  They 
are  driven  against  rough  bowlders,  submerged  logs 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  73 

and  snags,  or  through  raging  rapids  by  the  fury  of 
the  torrent,  until  hundreds,  yes  thousands,  of  them 
are  killed  outright,  and  thousands  more  die  from 
sheer  exhaustion. 

I  have  seen  salmon  with  their  noses  broken  and 
torn  off;  others  with  a  lower  jaw  torn  away;  some 
with  sides,  backs,  or  bellies  bruised  and  bleeding; 
others  with  their  tails  whipped  and  split  into  shreds, 
and  still  others  with    their   entrails  torn  out  by 
snags.     In  this  sad  plight  they  are  beset  at  every 
turn  in  the  river  by  their  natural  enemies.  Bears, 
cougars,   minks,   wild  cats,  fishers,   eagles,  hawks, 
and  worst  and  most  destructive  of  all,  men,  await 
them    everywhere,    and     it     would     be    strange, 
indeed,  if  one  in  each  thousand  that  left  the  salt 
water  should  live  to  return.     The  few  that  do  so, 
are,  of  course,  so  weak  that  they  fall  an  easy  prey 
to  the  seals,  sharks,  and  other  enemies,  that  wait 
with  open  mouths  to  engulf  them.     So,  all  the  leap- 
ing, rushing  multitude  that  entered  the  river  a  few 
months  ago,  have,  ere  this,  gone  to  their  doom,  but 
their  seed  is  planted  in  the  icy  brook,  far  away  in 
the  mountains,  and  their  young  will  soon  come  forth 
to  take  the  place  of  the  parents  that  have  passed 
away.     The  instinct  of  reproduction  must,  indeed, 
be  an  absorbing  passion  in  poor  dumb  creatures, 
when  they  will  thus   sacrifice  life  in  the  effort  to 
deposit  their  ova  where  the  offspring  may  best  be 
brought  into  being. 


74 


ORUISINGS  11^  THE  CASCADES 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


'BOYE  the  rapids  we  had  a  lovely  reach 
of  river,  from  a  quarter  to  half  a 
mile  wide,  with  no  perceptible  cur- 
rent. Impelled  by  our  united  efforts, 
our  light  cedar  canoe  shot  over  the 
water  as  lightly  and  almost  as 
swiftly  as  the  gulls  above  us  sped 
through  the  air.  I  took  one  of  the 
X)oles  and  used  it  while  the  In- 
dians plied  their  paddles,  and  for 
a  distance  of  nearly  two  miles  the  depth  of 
water  did  not  vary  two  inches  from  four  and  a  half 
feet.  The  bottom  was  composed  of  a  hard,  white 
sand,  into  which  the  pole,  with  my  weight  on  it, 
sunk  less  than  an  inch;  in  fact,  the  current  is  so 
slight,  the  width  of  the  river  so  great,  and  the  gen- 
eral character  of  the  water  such,  that  it  might  all  be 
termed  a  lake  above  the  falls;  though  the  foot  of 
the  lake,  as  designated  on  the  map,  has  a  still 
greater  widening  five  miles  above  the  head  of  the 
falls. 

Abrupt  basaltic  walls,  500  to  1,000  feet  high  and 
nearly  perpendicular,  rise  from  the  water's  edge 
on  either  side.  On  the  more  sloping  faces  of 
these,  vegetation  has  obtained  root-room,  little 
bunches  of  soil  have  formed,  and  various  ever- 
greens, alders,  water  hazels,  etc.,  grow  vigorously. 

(75) 


(76) 


AXD   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  77 

Half  a  foot  of  snow  liad  lately  fallen  on  the  tops  of 
these  mountains,  and  a  warm,  southwest  wind  and 
the  bright  sun  w^ere  now  sendini^  it  down  into  the 
river  in  numerous  plunging  streams  of  crystal  fluid. 
For  thousands  of  years  these  miniature  torrents  have, 
at  frequent  intervals,  tumbled  down  here,  and  in  all 
that  time  have  worn  but  slight  notches  in  the  rocky 
walls. 

Shrubs  have  grown  up  along  and  over  these 
small  waterways,  and  as  the  little  rivulets  come 
coursing  down,  dodging  hither  and  thither  under  over- 
hanging clumps  of  green  foliage,  leaping  from  crag 
to  crag  and  curving  from  right  to  left  and  from  left 
to  right,  around  and  among  frowning  projections  of 
invulnerable  rock,  glinting  and  sparkling  in  the  sun- 
light, they  remind  one  of  silvery  satin  ribbons,  tossed 
by  a  summer  breeze,  among  the  brown  tresses  of 
some  winsome  maiden.  I  took  several  views  of  these 
little  waterfalls,  but  their  transcendent  beauty  can 
not  be  intelligently  expressed  on  a  little  four-by-five 
silver  print. 

Several  larger  streams  also  put  into  the  Harrison, 
that  come  from  remote  fastnesses,  and  seem  to  carve 
their  way  through  great  mountains  of  granite.  Their 
shores  are  lined  with  dense  growths  of  conifers,  and 
afford  choice  retreats  for  deer,  bears,  and  other  wild 
animals. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  rounded  a 
high  point  of  rocks  that  jutted  out  into  the  river, 
and  another  beautiful  picture — another  surprise,  in 
this  land  of  surprises — lay  before  us.  Harrison 
Lake,  nestling  among  snowy  peaks  and  dotted  with 
basaltic  islands,  reflected  in  its  peaceful  depths  the 


78  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

surrounding  mountains  as  clearly  as  though  its 
placid  surface  had  been  covered  with  quicksilver. 
This  lake  is  about  forty  miles  long,  is  fed  by  the 
Lillooet  river  and  numerous  smaller  streams.  Silver 
creek,  which  comes  in  on  the  west  side;  twenty  miles 
north  of  the  hot  springs,  is  a  beautiful  mountain 
stream  of  considerable  size.  A  quarter  of  a  mile 
above  its  mouth,  it  makes  a  perpendicular  fall  of 
over  sixty  feet.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  falls 
in  the  country.  Near  the  head  of  the  lake,  and  in 
full  view  from  the  springs,  old  Mount  Douglass,  clad 
in  perpetual  snow  and  glacial  ice,  towers  into  the 
blue  sky  until  its  brilliancy  almost  dazzles  one's 
eyes.  Though  forty  miles  away,  one  who  did  not 
know  would  estimate  the  distance  at  not  more  than 
five,  so  clearly  are  all  the  details  of  the  grand  picture 
shown.  It  is  said  that  from  the  glaciers  on  this  peak 
come  the  streams  whose  waters  give  their  peculiar 
milky  cast  to  Harrison  Lake  and  Harrison  river. 
Near  the  base  of  Mount  Douglass  is  an  Indian  village 
of  the  same  name,. and  the  Hudson  Bay  Fur  Com- 
pany formerly  had  a  trading  post  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, which  they  called  Fort  Douglass.  This  Indian 
village  is  the  home  of  my  prospective  guide,  and 
from  it  he  has  adopted  his  unpoetic  cognomen. 

Half  a  mile  to  the  right  of  where  we  entered  the 
lake,  the  famous  hot  springs,  already  mentioned,  boil 
out  from  under  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  and  discharge 
their  steaming  fluid  into  the  lake.  The  curative 
power  of  these  waters  has  been  known  to  the  natives 
for  ages  past,  and  the  sick  have  come  from  all  direc- 
tions, and  from  villages  many  miles  away,  to 
bathe  in  the  waters  and  be  healed.     All  about  the 


AND   OTHER  IIUNTINa  ADVENTURES.  79 

place  are  remains  of  Indian  encampments,  medicine 
lodges,  etc.  The  tribes  in  this  vicinity  are  greatly 
exercised  over  the  fact  of  the  white  man  having 
lately  asserted  ownership  of  their  great  sanitarium, 
and  having  assumed  its  control.  Mr.  J.  R.  Brown 
has  erected  over  the  springs  a  large  bath-house,  and 
near  that  a  commodious  hotel.  He  has  cut  a  road 
through  a  pass  in  the  mountains  to  Agassiz  station, 
on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  five  miles  distant, 
so  that  the  springs  may  now  be  easily  reached  by 
invalids  wishing  to  test  their  curative  properties. 
Soon  after  my  arrival  at  the  springs,  I  climbed  the 
mountain  to  the  east  of  the  hotel,  and  passed  the 
time  ]3leasantly,  until  sunset,  viewing  the  beautiful 
scenery  in  the  neighborhood. 

On  the  following  morning  I  took  a  boat  and  rowed 
up  the  east  shore  of  the  lake,  in  hope  of  getting  a  shot 
at  a  deer,  but  though  I  saw  plenty  of  fresh  signs  all 
along  the  shore  no  game  was  visible.  I  spent  the 
afternoon  looking  anxiously  for  my  promised  guide, 
but  he  came  not.  I  again  amused  myself,  however, 
taking  views  of  the  scenery,  but  found  on  develop- 
ing the  negatives  that  I  had  not  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful with  either  Mount  Douglass  or  Mount  Chiam. 
Snowy  mountains  are  about  the  most  difficult  objects 
in  all  nature  to  photograph,  especially  if  you  attempt 
to  include  anything  beside  the  snowy  peaks  in  the 
picture  ;  for  they  are  so  intensely  white,  and  the  sky 
or  even  clouds  that  form  the  background  are  so  light 
and  afford  so  slight  contrast,  that  it  is  next  to  impossi- 
ble to  get  good  sharp  pictures  of  them.  The  landscape 
about  the  mountains  is  sure  to  offer  some  dark  objects, 
perhaps  deep  shadows,  and  even  the  mountain  itself 


80  CRUISIKGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

nearly  always  has  bare  rocks  and  dark,  gloomy  cafi- 
ons,  and  to  get  tliese  g-nd  the  dazzling  whiteness  of  the 
snow  and  ice  on  the  same  plate  is  decidedly  difficult. 
Of  course  we  see  many  fine  photographs  of  snow-cov- 
ered mountains,  but  if  taken  with  a  clear  sky  or  with 
light  clouds  for  background,  there  is  generally  more 
or  less  retouching  necessary,  and  more  or  less  doctor- 
ing in  printing,  with  tissue  paper,  glass  screens,  etc., 
in  order  to  obtain  the  results  we  see  in  the  prints.  I 
made  some  fair  views  of  both  these  peaks,  but  not 
such  as  an  enthusiastic  amateur  might  wish.  Of  the 
lower  mountains,  where  at  that  time  there  was  no 
snow,  of  the  lake,  the  islands,  etc.,  I  got  very  sat- 
isfactory pictures.  I  went  up  the  road,  toward  the 
railway  station,  a  mile  or  more,  where  it  passes 
through  one  of  those  grand  forests  for  which  this 
country  is  so  famous,  where — 

"  Those  green-robed  senators  of  mighty  woods 
Dream,  and  so  dream  all  night  without  a  stir." 

There  I  made  views  of  some  of  the  giant  cedars,  the 
dense  moss-hung  jungles,  the  great  lir  trees,  etc.  In 
these  dark,  densely-shaded  woods  I  had  to  take  off 
the  flying  shutter  and  make  time  exposures.  I  gave 
three  to  five  seconds  to  each  plate.  In  the  prints 
the  trees  and  other  objects  nearest  to  the  lens  are  of 
course  over-exposed,  but  the  details  in  the  shadows 
and  objects  in  the  extreme  distance  are  clearly  and 
beautifully  brought  out.  For  these  time  exposures 
I  placed  the  camera  on  some  convenient  log,  stump, 
or  stone,  in  lieu  of  a  tripod.  In  two  instances  I  seated 
the  rear  end  of  the  instrument  on  the  ground,  with 
the  lens  bearing  up  through  the  tops  of  the  trees. 
The  whitened  trunk  and  broken,  straggling  arms  of 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES. 


81 


one  great  old  dead  fir — one  that  has  flourished  in 
this  rich  soil  and  drawn  sustenance  from  the  moist, 
ozone-laden  atmosphere  of  these  mountains  for  hun- 
dreds of  years,  but  has  lived  out  his  time  and  is  now 
goin^  the  w^ay  of  all  things  earthly — forms  the  sub- 
ject of  one  of  the  best  and  most  interesting  pictures 
of  the  whole  series.  The  tops  of  several  other  trees 
— birch,  maple,  etc.,  that  stood  near  the  fir — are  also 
shown  in  the  picture.  It  can  best  be  seen  and  appre- 
ciated by  holding  it  above  your  head,^  looking  up  at 
it,  and  imagining  yourself  there  in  the  forest,  look- 
ing up  through  the  tops  of  the  giant  trees  into  the 
blue  ethereal  dome  of  heaven. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

'N  the  morning  I  got  up  early  to  look  for  Doug- 
lass Bill,  thinking  and  hoping  he  might 
have  landed  during  the  night,  but  no  one 
fe  had  seen  him  and  there  was  no  strange 
canoe  in  the  harbor.  After  breakfast, 
in  order  to  kill  time,  I  climbed  the 
mountain  east  of  the  hotel  to  a  height  of 
about  a  thousand  feet.  It  is  heavily 
timbered,  and  I  found  plenty  of  fresh 
deer-signs  within  plain  sound  of  the 
hammers  wielded  by  the  carpenters  at  Avork  on  the 
hotel,  but  failed  to  get  a  shot.  I  returned  at 
eleven  o'clock,  but  Bill  had  not  yet  shown  up. 
Three  other  Indians  were  there,  however,  with 
three  deer  in  their  canoe,  which  they  had  killed 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake  the  day  before.  I 
now  concluded  that  Mr.  Major's  confidence  in  Bill 
was  misplaced  ;  that  he  was  not  going  to  keep  his 
contract,  and  was,  in  short,  as  treacherous,  as  unre- 
liable, and  as  consummate  a  liar  as  other  Indians ; 
so  I  entered  into  negotiations  with  these  three  Indi- 
ans to  get  one  or  two  of  them  to  go  with  me.  But  they 
hafl  planned  a  trip  to  New  Westminster,  to  sell  their 
venison,  and  I  could  not  induce  any  one  of  them  to 
go,  though  I  offered  big  wages,  and  a  premium  on 
each  head  of  game  I  might  kill,  besides.  They  said 
that  if  I  wished  they  would  take  me  to  their  village — 

(82) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  83 

which  is  five  miles  down  the  river — and  that  there 
were  several  good  goat  hunters  there  whom  I  could 
get.  I  accepted  their  offer  of  transportation,  stepped 
into  the  canoe,  and  we  pulled  out.  As  we  entered 
the  shoal  water  in  the  river  I  asked  for  a  pole,  and 
impelled  by  it  and  the  three  paddles  we  sped  down 
the  stream  at  a  rapid  rate. 

There  was  a  cold,  disagreeable  rain  falling  and  a 
chilly  north  wind  blowing.  This  storm  had  brought 
clouds  of  ducks  into  the  river,  among  them  several 
flocks  of  canvas  backs.  The  Indians,  who  were  using 
smoorh-bore  muskets,  killed  several  of  these  tooth- 
some fowls.  One  flock  rose  ahead  of  us  and  started 
directly  down  the  river,  but  by  some  kind  of  native 
intuition  the  Indians  seemed  to  know  that  they  would 
come  back  uj)  the  opposite  shore.  They  dropped 
their  guns,  caught  up  the  paddles  and  plied  them 
with  such  force  that  every  stroke  fairly  lifted  the 
light  cedar  canoe  out  of  the  water,  and  we  shot  across 
the  river  with  the  speed  of  a  deer.  Sure  enough, 
after  flying  a  hundred  yards  down  stream  the 
ducks  turned  and,  hugging  the  shore,  undertook  to 
pass  up  the  river  on  the  other  side,  but  we  cut  them 
off,  so  that  they  had  to  pass  over  our  heads.  At 
this  Juncture  the  two  muskets  carried  by  the  two 
young  men  cracked  and  three  canvas  backs  dropped, 
limp  and  lifeless,  into  the  water  within  a  few  feet 
of  us. 

We  arrived  at  the  hut  occupied  by  this  family  at 
noon.  It  stands  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  half  a  mile 
above  the  village  of  Chehalis,  and  as  we  pulled  up, 
two  old  and  two  young  squaws  and  nine  small  Indi- 
ans, some  of  them  mere  papooses  in  arms  (but  not 


84  CRUISINGS  IN  THE   CASCADES 

in  long  clothes — in  fact,  not  in  any  clothes  worth  men- 
tioning), came  swarming  out  to  meet  us.  Their  abode 
was  a  shanty  about  twelve  feet  square,  made  by  set- 
ting four  corner  posts  into  the  ground,  nailing  cross- 
ribs  on,  and  over  these  clapboards  riven  from  the 
native  cedars,  and  the  roof  was  of  the  same  material. 
The  adult  members  of  this  social  alliance  had  been 
engaged  in  catching  and  drying  salmon  during  the 
recent  run;  the  heads,  entrails  and  backbones  of  which 
had  been  dumped  into  the  river  at  their  very  door. 
There  being  no  current  near  the  shore  they  had  sunk 
in  barely  enough  water  to  cover  them,  and  lay  there 
rotting  and  x)oluting  the  water  used  by  the  family 
for  drinking  and  cooking.  Cart-loads  of  this  offal 
were  also  lying  about  the  dooryard,  and  had  been 
trampled  into  and  mixed  up  with  the  mud  until  the 
whole  outfit  stunk  like  a  tanyard. 

Within  was  a  picture  of  filth  and  squalor  that 
beggars  description.  The  floor  of  the  hut  was  of 
mother  earth.  A  couple  of  logs  with  two  clapboards 
laid  across  them  formed  the  only  seats.  On  one  side 
was  a  pile  of  brush,  hay,  and  dirty,  filthy  blankets, 
indiscriminately  mixed,  on  which  the  entire  three 
families  slept,  presumably  in  the  same  f as h ion.  'Neav 
the  centre  of  the  hut  a  small  fire  struggled  for  exist- 
ence, and  that  portion  of  the  smoke  that  Avas  not 
absorbed  by  the  people,  the  drying  fish  and  other 
objects  in  the  room,  escaped  through  a  hole  in  the 
centre  of  the  roof.  The  children,  barefooted  and  half- 
naked^  came  in  out  of  the  rain,  mud,  and  fish  carrion, 
in  which  they  liad  been  tramping  about,  and  sat  or 
lay  on  the  ground  about  the  fire,  looking  as  happy 
as  a  litter  of  pigs  in  a  mud  hole.     On  poles,  attached 


AXD   OTHER  IIUNTIXG  ADVENTURES.  85 

by  cedar  withes  to  the  ra-fters,  were  hung  several 
hundred  salmon,  absorbing  smoke,  carbonic  acid  gas 
from  the  lungs  of  the  human  beings  beneath,  and 
steam  from  the  cooking  that  was  going  on.  It  is 
understood  that  after  tliis  process  has  been  prolonged 
for  some  weeks  these  once  noble  fishes  will  be  fit  for 
the  winter  food  of  the  Siwash. 

Some  of  the  houses  in  Chehalis  are  neat  frame 
cottages ;  in  fact,  it  is  a  better-built  town,  on  the 
whole,  than  the  village  of  Harrison  River  already 
described ;  but  these  better  houses  all  stand  back 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  river,  and  the 
inhabitants  have  left  them  and  gone  into  the  "fish- 
houses,"  the  clapboard  structures,  on  the  immediate 
river  bank.  Some  of  these  shanties  are  much  larger 
than  the  one  mentioned  above,  and  in  some  cases 
four,  iive,  or  even  six  families  hole  up  in  one  of 
these  filthy  dens  during  the  fish-curing  season. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  salmon  of  one  variety 
or  another  in  these  larger  rivers  nearly  all  the  year, 
but  sometimes  the  weather  is  too  cold,  too  wet,  or 
otherwise  too  disagreable  in  winter  for  the  noble  red 
man  to  fish  with  comfort,  and  hence  all  these  prep- 
arations for  a  rainy  day.  After  the  fishes  are  cured 
they  are  hung  up  in  big  out-houses  set  on  posts,  or 
in  some  cases  built  high  up  in  the  branches  of  trees,  in 
order  to  be  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of  rats,  minks, 
or  other  vermin,  and  the  members  of  the  commune 
draw  from  the  stock  at  will.  The  coast  Indians  live 
almost  wholly  on  fish,  and  seem  perfectly  happy 
without  flesh,  vegetables,  or  bread,  if  such  be  not  at 
hand,  though  they  can  eat  plenty  of  all  these  when 
set  before  them.     If  one  of  them  kills  a  deer  he  sel- 


86 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 


dom  or  never  eats  more  of  it  than  the  liver,  heart, 

lungs,  etc.     He  sells  the  carcass,  if  within  a  three 

days'  voyage  of  a  white  man  who  will  buy  venison. 

One  of  the  young  men  already  mentioned  went  with 


SALMON  BOXES  IN  TREES. 


me  down  to  one  of  the  big  fish-houses  and  called  out 
Pean,  a  man  about  fifty  years  of  age,  who  he  said 
was  a  good  goat  hunter  and  a  good  guide.  They  held  a 
hurried  conversation  in  their  native  tongue,  at  the 


ATs'D   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  87' 

close  of  which  the  young  man  said  Pean  would  go 
with  me  for  two  dollars  a  day.  I  asked  Pean  if  he 
could  talk  English,  and  he  said  *'yes,"  but  this 
proved,  in  after  experience,  to  be  about  the  only 
English  word  he  could  speak.  He  rushed  into  the 
hut,  and  in  about  three  or  four  minutes  returned 
with  his  gun,  powder-horn,  bullet-pouch,  pipe, 
and  a  small  roll  of  blankets,  and  was  ready  for 
a  journey  into  the  mountains  of,  he  knew  not  how 
many  days.  His  canoe  was  on  the  river  bank  near 
us,  and  as  we  were  stepping  into  it  I  asked  him  a 
few  questions  which  he  tried  to  answer  in  English, 
but  made  a  poor  stagger  at  it,  and  slid  olf  into  Chi- 
nook. 

Just  then  another  old  Indian  came  up  with  a 
canoe-load  of  wood.  I  asked  him  if  he  could  speak 
English — "wah-wahKing  George";  and  he  said 
^'Yes." 

I  then  told  him  I  had  hired  this  other  man 
to  go  hunting  with  me  and  asked  him  if  he  knew 
him. 

"Oh,  yes,"  he  said;  "me  chief  here.  Alldese 
house  my  house.  All  dese  people  my  people.  'No 
other  chief  here."  I  said  I  was  delighted  to  know 
him,  shook  hands  with  him,  gave  him  a  cigar,  and 
inquired  his  name. 

"  Captain  George,"  he  said;  "me  chief  here." 

"  Is  he  a  good  hunter  f  pointing  to  Pean. 

'  'Yes,  Pean  good  hunter;  good  man.  He  kill  plenty 
sheep,  deer,  bear. ' '  With  this  additional  certificate  of 
efiiciency  and  good  character  I  felt  more  confidence 
in  Pean,  and  stepping  into  the  canoe  was  once  more 
en  route  to  the  mountains. 


88 


CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 


Still,  I  felt  some  misgivings,  for  my  past  experience 
with  the  fish  eaters  had  taught  me  not  to  place 
implicit  faith  in  their  statements  or  pretensions,  and 
the  sequel  will  show  how  well  grounded  these  fears 
were. 


CHAPTER  X. 


'HE  Flathead  nation,  to 
which  nearly  all  the  Puget 
Sound  Indians  belong,  may 
almost  be  termed  amphibians; 
for  though  they  can,  and  do 
in  some  cases,  live  inland  ex- 
clusively, they  are  never  happy 
when  away  from  the  water.  They  are 
canonists  by  birth  and  education.  A  coast 
Indian  is  as  helpless  and  miserable  with- 
out a  canoe  as  a  plains  Indian  without  a  horse,  and 
the  Siwash  (Chinook  for  coast  Indian)  is  as  expert  in 
the  use  of  the  canoe  as  the  Sioux,  Crow,  or  Arapahoe 
in  the  use  and  control  of  his  cayuse.  Almost  the  sole 
means  of  travel,  of  intercommunication  among  these 
people,  and  between  themselves  and  the  whites,  is 
the  canoe. 

There  are  very  few  horses  owned  in  any  of  the 
coast  tiibes,  and  these  are  rarely  ridden.  When  a 
Siwash  attempts  to  ride  a  horse  he  climbs  onto  it 
kicking  and  grunting  with  the  effort,  much  as  an 
Alabama  negro  mounts  his  mule,  and  sits  him  about 
as  gracefully.  But  let  the  Siwash  step  into  his 
canoe,  and  he  fears  no  rapid,  whirlpool,  nor  stormy 
billow.     He  faces  the  most  perilous  water  and  sends 

(89) 


90 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  91 

his  frail  cedar  shell  into  it  with  a  skill  and  a  conscious- 
ness of  mastery  that  would  put  to  the  blush  any  of 
the  prize  winners  in  our  Eastern  canoe-club  regattas. 
The  canoes  are  models  of  nautical  architecture. 
They  are  cut  and  carved  from  the  cedar  trees  which 
bounteous  Nature,  in  wise  provision  for  the  wants  of 
Her  children,  has  caused  to  grow  so  plentifully  and 
to  such  prodigious  size  in  the  Sound  country.  They 
are  of  various  sizes  and  lengths,  owing  to  the  uses 
for  which  they  are  intended.  If  for  spearing  sal- 
mon or  for  light  traveling,  they  are  cut  from  a  tree 
twenty  to  twenty-four  inches  in  diameter,  and  are 
not  more  than  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  long.  If  for 
attending  nets  and  bringing  in  the  catch,  they  are 
generally  longer,  and  if  for  freighting  and  long-dis- 
tance traveling,  they  are  of  immense  size  and  capable 
of  carrying  great  burdens.  A  tree  of  the  size  wanted 
is  selected,  perfectly  sound  and  free  from  knots,  and 
a  log  of  the  desired  length  cut  off.  The  log  is  hol- 
lowed, carved  out  to  the  desired  shape,  then  trimmed 
and  tapered  outside  until  it  is  a  mere  shell,  scarcely 
more  than  an  inch  thick  anywhere. 

It  is  then  filled  with  water,  a  fire  is  built  near  in 
which  rocks  are  heated  and  thrown  into  the  canoe 
until  the  water  boils.  This  is  continued  until  the 
wood  is  thoroughly  cooked  and  softened,  when  the 
water  is  turned  out,  the  canoe  is  spread  at  the 
centre,  braced  out  to  nearly  twice  its  natural  width 
or  diameter,  and  left  to  dry.  This  gives  it  "sheer" 
and  enables  it  to  ride  a  heavy  sea  like  a  lifeboat. 
Handsomely  carved  figureheads  are  attached  to 
some  of  the  large  canoes,  and  the  entire  craft  is 
painted,  striped,   and  decorated  in  gay  colors.     I 


92  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

measured  one  of  these  cedar  canoes  that  was  thirty- 
four  feet  long  and  five  and  a  half  feet  beam,  and  was 
told  by  its  owner  that  he  had  carried  in  it  four  tons 
of  freight  on  one  trip,  and  two  cords  of  green  wood 
on  another.  It  would  carry  fifty  men  comfortably 
and  safely.  There  are  not  many  of  the  Indians  that 
can  make  the  larger  and  better  grade  of  canoes,  and 
the  trade  is  one  that  but  few  master. 

There  is  one  famous  old  canoe  builder  near  Van- 
couver, to  whom  Indians  go  from  distances  of  a 
hundred  miles  or  more  when  they  want  an  extra 
fine,  large,  light  canoe.  For  some  si:)ecimens  of  his 
handiwork  he  gets  as  high  as  $80  to  $100.  The  In- 
dians throughout  Washington  Territory  and  British 
Columbia  do  considerable  freighting  for  whites,  on 
streams  not  navigable  for  steamers,  and  they  take 
freight  up  over  some  of  the  rapids  where  no  white 
man  could  run  an  empty  canoe. 

Some  of  these  Flatheads  are  industrious  and  are 
employed  by  the  whites  in  salmon  canneries,  lum- 
bering and  logging  operations,  farming,  etc.  Steam- 
boat men  employ  them  almost  exclusively  for  deck 
hands,  and  they  make  the  best  ones  to  be  had  in  the 
country;  better  than  either  whites  or  Chinamen. 
They  are  excellent  packers  by  education.  In  this 
densely-timbered  country  horses  can  not,  as  a  rule, 
be  used  for  packing,  and  the  Indians,  in  going  across 
country  where  there  is  no  watercourse,  pack  all 
their  plunder  on  their  backs.  Whites  traveling  in 
the  woods  also  depend  on  Indians  to  pack  their  lug- 
gage; consequently  it  is  not  strange  that  the  latter 
become  experts  at  the  business,  and  it  is  this 
schooling  that  makes  them  valuable  as  deck  hands. 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  93 

They  are  not  large  men,  but  are  tougli,  sinewy,  and 
muscular.  An  average  Siwash  will  pick  up  a  barrel 
of  flour  or  pork,  a  case  of  dry  goods,  or  other  heavy 
freight  weighing  three  hundred  pounds  or  more,  roll 
it  onto  his  back,  and  walk  up  a  gang-plank  or  a  steep 
river-bank  as  easily  as  a  white  man  would  with  a 
barrel  of  crackers. 

No  work  is  too  dirty  or  too  hard  for  them.  They 
are  obedient  to  orders  and  submissive  to  discipline, 
but  their  weak  point,  like  that  of  all  Indians,  is  their 
inordinate  love  of  whisky.  Quite  frequently,  after 
working  a  few  weeks  or  months,  they  quit  and  go 
on  a  drunken  debauch  that  ends  only  when  their 
money  is  gone.  Their  dress  is  much  the  same,  in 
general,  as  that  of  the  whites  in  this  region,  with  the 
exception  that  the  Indians  wear  moccasins  when 
hunting.  This  footgear  is  little  in  favor  here  with 
white  hunters,  owing  to  there  being  so  much  rain- 
fall, and  so  much  wading  to  do.  Rubber  boots  are 
indispensable  for  hunting  in  most  seasons,  and  a  rub- 
ber coat  should  also  be  included  in  every  hunter' s 
outfit.  I  found  the  Hannaford  ventilated  rubber 
boot  the  most  comfortable  and  perfect  footgear  I 
have  ever  worn.  You  can  scarcely  walk  a  mile  in 
any  direction  in  this  country  at  any  time  of  year, 
on  mountains  or  lowlands,  without  encountering 
water.  Moccasins  soon  become  soaked,  and  are  then 
the  most  uncomfortable  things  imaginable.  I  asked 
one  of  my  guides  why  he  did  not  wear  rubber  boots 
instead  of  moccasins,  and  he  replied: 

''0,    I  dunno.    De  moxicans  cheaper,  mebbe.     I 
mek  him  myself.     Can't  mek  de  boots." 

This  is  about  the  only  use  the  Indians  make  of 


94  CRUISINGS  IN  THE   CASCADES 

buckskin.  It  is  not  popular  with  them  as  a  material 
for  clothing,  on  account  of  the  vast  amount  of  rainy 
weather. 

It  has  been  said  they  make  cloth  from  the  wool 
of  the  goat,  but,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  they  make 
very  little,  if  any  of  it,  of  late  years.  I  saw  some 
blankets  that  Indians  had  woven  from  this  wool, 
but  they  were  very  coarse.  They  have  no  machinery 
for  spinning;  the  yarn  is  merely  twisted  by  hand,  and 
is  so  coarse  and  loose  that  it  would  not  hold  together 
a  week  if  made  into  a  garment  and  worn  in  the  woods. 
Of  course,  a  fair  article  of  yarn,  and  even  cloth,  may 
be,  and  has  been,  made  entirely  by  hand,  but  these 
people  have  neither  the  skill,  the  taste,  nor  the 
industry  to  enable  them  to  do  such  work.  A 
coarse  hair  grows  with  the  wool  on  the  goat,  and 
the  squaws  do  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  separate 
it,  but  work  both  up  together,  making  a  very 
uncouth-looking  fabric,  even  if  thick,  warm,  and 
serviceable. 

As  a  class,  these  Indians  appear  to  be  strictly 
honest,  toward  each  other  at  least.  They  leave  their 
canoes,  guns,  game,  or  in  fact,  any  kind  of  property, 
anywhere  they  choose,  without  the  slightest  eifort  at 
concealment,  and  always  feel  perfectly  sure  of  find- 
ing it  on  their  return.  About  the  only  case  of  pilfer- 
ing I  ever  heard  of  while  among  them  (and  I 
took  special  i^ains  to  investigate)  was  when  John 
asked  me  for  some  fish-hooks,  and  said  in  expla- 
nation: 

"I  had  plenty  hooks,  but  I  reckon  Seemo  he  steal 
all  my  hooks." 

"Why,  does  Seymour  steal f    I  inquired.     He 


AND  OTHER  HUNTII^G  ADVENTURES. 


95 


looked  all  around  to  see  it'  Seymour  was  within  hear- 
ing, and  not  seeing  him,  replied: 

''You  bet.     He  steal  my  hooks,  too.'' 


A  tolWASH  AND  HIS  MORNING'S  CATCH. 


96 


CRUISINGS  IX  THE   CASCADES 


AN  INDIAN  SALMON  FISHERY. 


CHAPTER    XL 


HAD  left  my 

Hotel,  and  retumln 


bedding 


at  the  Hot  Springs 
to  get  it  staid  there 


all  night. 


Early  next  inorning  (Friday, 

J^ovember  12)  we  crossed  Harrison  Lake, 

in  a  drenching  rain,  to  the  foot  of  a  high 

mountain,    about    two    miles    from  the 

springs,  on  which  Pean,  Captain  George, 

^  and  other  Indians  said  there  were  plenty 

''of  goats.     We  beached  our  canoe,  and 

made    up  packs  for    the    climb  np   the 

mountain.     The  outfit  consisted  of  our  guns,  my 

sleeping-bag,  Pean's  gun  and  blankets,   a  few  sea 

biscuits,  a  piece  of  bacon,  and  some  salt. 

My  sleeping-bag  was  wrapped  uj)  in  a  piece  of 
canvas,  and  when  I  handed  it  to  Pean,  he  commenced 
to  unroll  it  to  put  his  blankets  in  with  it,  but  I 
objected.  Visions  of  the  insects  with  which  I  knew 
his  bedding  was  inhabited  rose  up  before  me.  I 
thought  of  the  rotary  drill,  key -hole  saw,  and  suction 
pump  with  which  they  are  said  to  be  armed,  and 
I  did  not  want  any  of  them  in  my  bag.  So  I 
unrolled  the  canvas  only  a  part  of  its  length,  laid  his 
blankets  in  and  rolled  it  up  again,  hoping  the  i-emain- 
ing  folds  might  prevent  the  vermin  from  finding 
their  way  in,  and  my  reckoning  proved  correct. 
One  of  his  blankets  had  been  white  in  its  day,  but 
had  long  since  lost  its  grip  on  that  color,  and  was 

7  (97) 


98  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES  • 

now  about  as  pronounced  a  brunette  as  its  owner. 
The  other  blanket  was  gray,  but  even  through  this 
sombre  shade,  as  well  as  through  the  rank  odor 
it  emitted,  gave  evidence  that  it  had  not  been 
washed  for  many  years.  Pean  brought  with  him 
a  cotton  bedspread  that  had  also  once  been 
white,  but  left  this  with  the  canoe.  In  my  pack  I 
carried  the  grub,  and  an  extra  coat  for  use  on  the 
mountain,  where  w^e  expected  to  encounter  colder 
weather. 

We  started  up  the  mountain  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon.  For  the  first  two  miles  we  skirted  its 
base  to  the  eastward,  through  dense  timber,  crossing 
several  deep,  dark  jungles  and  swamps.  Then  we 
began  the  ascent  proper,  and  as  soon  as  we  got  up  a 
few  hundred  feet  on  the  mountain  side,  we  found 
numerous  fresh  deer-signs.  We  halted  to  rest,  when 
Pean  took  from  its  case  his  gun,  which  up  to  this 
time  he  had  kept  covered,  and  which  I  naturally 
supposed  to  be  a  good,  modern  weapon.  It  proved, 
however,  an  old  smooth  bore,  muzzle-loading, 
percussion-lock  musket,  of  .65  calibre,  with  a 
barrel  about  fifty  inches  long.  He  drew  out  the 
wiping  stick,  on  the  end  of  which  was  a  wormer, 
l>ulled  a  wad  of  paper  from  the  gun  and  poured  a 
charge  of  shot  out  into  his  hand.  This  he  put  care- 
fully into  his  shot-bag.  Then  he  took  from  another 
X)oucli  a  No.  1  buckshot,  and  dropped  it  into  the 
muzzle  of  his  musket.  It  rolled  down  onto  the 
pow^der,  when  he  again  inserted  the  bunch  of  j^aper, 
rammed  it  home  with  the  rod,  put  on  a  cap,  and  was 
loaded  for  bear,  deer,  or  whatever  else  he  might 
encounter.     He  then  replaced  the  musket  in  its  seal- 


AIS^D   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  99 

skin  cover  as  carefully  as  if  it  had  been  a  $300 
breech-loader. 

Nearly  all  these  Indians  use  just  such  old  mus- 
kets, bought  from  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and 
yet  they  keep  them  in  covers  made  of  the  skin  of 
the  seal,  which  tliey  kill  in  the  rivers  hereabout,  or 
of  deer  or  other  animals.  They  take  excellent  care 
of  their  guns  in  this  respect,  but  I  have  never  seen 
one  of  them  clean  or  oil  his  weapon,  and  several  of 
them  told  me  they  seldom  do  so. 

My  Winchester  express,  with  fancy  stock,  Lyman 
sight,  etc.,  was  a  curiosity  to  them.  None  of  them 
had  ever  seen  anything  like  it,  and  one  of  them 
asked  me  what  kind  of  a  rifle  it  was.  When  told  it 
was  a  Winchester,  he  said: 

^'  I  didn't  know  Winchester  so  big  like  dat. 
Didn't  know  he  had  stock  like  dat."  He  had  only 
seen  the  little  .44  Winchester,  with  a  plain  stock, 
and  innocently  supposed  it  was  the  only  kind 
made. 

Pean  and  I  had  a  hard  day's  work  toiling  up  the 
mountain  through  fallen  timber,  over  and  around 
great  ledges  of  jutting  rock,  across  deep,  rugged 
canons  and  gulches,  and  through  dense  jungles  of 
underbrush.  About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we 
halted,  lay  down  for  a  rest,  and  had  been  there  but 
a  few  minutes  when  I  heard  the  sharp,  familiar 
chatter  of  the  little  pine  squirrel.  I  looked  around 
quickly,  exi3ecting  to  see  one  within  a  few  feet  of 
me,  but  instead  saw  Pean  lying  close  to  the  ground, 
beckoning  to  me  and  x)ointing  excitedly  up  the  game 
trail  in  which  we  had  been  walking.  Looking 
through  the  thick,  intervening  brush,    I  saw  two 


100  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

deer,  a  buck  and  a  doe,  looking  toward  us.  They 
had  not  seen  nor  scented  us,  but  had  merely  heard 
the  chatter  of  the  little  squirrel,  as  they  supposed, 
and,  though  apparently  as  completely  deceived  by  it 
as  I  had  been,  they  had  stopped  to  listen,  as  they  do 
at  almost  every  sound  they  hear  in  the  woods.  But 
there  was  no  squirrel  there.  Pean  had  taken  this 
method  of  calling  my  attention,  and  had  imitated 
the  cry  of  the  familiar  little  cone-eater  so  perfectly 
that  even  the  deer  had  been  deceived  by  it. 

I  cautiously  and  slowly  drew  my  rifle  to  my 
shoulder,  and  taking  aim  at  the  breast  of  the  buck, 
iired.  Both  deer  bounded  away  into  thicker  brush, 
and  w^ere  out  of  sight  in  an  instant.  Pean  sprang 
after  them,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  heard  the  dull, 
muffled  report  of  his  musket.  He  shouted  to  me, 
and  going  to  him  I  found  the  buck  dead  and  the 
Indian  engaged  in  butchering  it.  My  bullet  had 
gone  a  little  farther  to  the  left  than  I  intended, 
breaking  its  shoulder,  and  had  passed  out  through 
the  ribs  on  the  same  side.  The  deer  had  fallen  after 
going  but  a  few  yards,  but  was  not  quite  dead  when 
Pean  came  up  and  shot  it  through  the  head.  We 
took  out  the  entrails,  cut  a  choice  roast  of  the  meat 
for  our  supper  and  breakfast,  and  hurried  on  our 
way. 

We  camped  at  four  o'clock  on  a  small  bench  of 
the  mountain,  and  you  may  rest  assured,  gentle 
reader,  tljat  our  conversation  in  front  of  the  camp 
fire  that  night  was  novel.  Pean,  you  will  remember, 
could  not  speak  half  a  dozen  words  of  English.  He 
spoke  entirely  in  Chinook,  and  I  knew  but  a  few 
words  of  that  jargon.     I  had  a  Chinook  dictionary 


AND   OTIIEK  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  101 

with  me,  however,  and  by  its  aid  was  able  to  pick 
out  the  few  words  necessary  in  what  little  talking  I 
had  to  do,  and  to  translate  enough  of  Pean'  s  answers 
to  ni}^  questions  to  get  along  fairly  well.  The  great 
trouble  with  him  seemed  to  be  that  he  was  wound 
up  to  talk,  and  whenever  I  made  a  remark  or  asked 
a  question  in  his  adopted  language  he  turned  loose, 
and  talked  until  I  shut  liim  off  with  "Halokum- 
tucks"  (I  don't  understand).  No  matter  how  often 
I  repeated  this  he  seemed  soon  to  forget  it,  and 
would  open  on  me  again  whenever  he  got  a  cue.  He 
was  a  fluent  talker,  and  if  I  had  only  been  well  up 
in  the  jargon,  1  could  have  got  lots  of  pointers  from 
him. 

The  deer  of  this  region  is  the  true  black-tail  (Csr- 
vus  Columbian  us) ^  not  the  mule-deer  {Cervus  ma- 
crotis),  that  is  so  often  miscalled  the  black-tail. 
The  black-tail  is  smaller  than  the  mule-deer,  and  its 
ears,  though  not  so  large  as  those  of  the  latter,  are 
larger  than  those  of  the  Virginia  d.eev  {Cervus  vir- 
qinianus).  Its  tail  is  white  underneath,  dark  out- 
side, shading  to  black  at  the  lower  end,  and  while 
longer  than  that  of  the  mule-deer,  is  not  so  long  as 
that  of  the  Virginia  deer. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HINOOK  is  a  queer  jargon.  It  is  said 
to  have  been  manufactured  many 
years  ago  by  an  employe  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Fur  Company,  who  taught  the 
principal  chiefs  of  various  Indian  tribes  to  speak 
it  in  order  to  facilitate  traffic  with  them.  From  that 
time  it  has  grown  and  spread  until  almost  every 
Indian  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  and  many  inland 
tribes  of  Washington,  British  Columbia,  and  Oregon 
speak  it.  White  men  of  all  nations  who  live  in  this 
country  speak  it,  and  even  the  almond-eyed  China- 
man learns  it  soon  after  locating  here.  In  short,  it 
is  the  court  language  of  the  Northwest,  as  the  sign 
language  is  of  the  plains.  It  is  made  up  from  vari- 
ous Indian  tongues,  with  a  few  English,  or  rather 
pigeon -English,  French,  and  Sx^anish  words  inter- 
mixed. There  are  only  about  1,500  words  in  the 
language  and  it  is  very  easy  to  learn.  Of  course,  it 
is  woefully  lacking  in  strength  and  beauty.  You 
will  often  want  to  say  something  that  can  not  be  said 
in  Chinook,  because  there  are  no  words  in  that 
jargon  with  which  to  say  it.  But  it  is  made  to 
answer  the  purposes  of  trade,  travel,  and  barter,  in 
common  forms.     For  instance: 

"Kah-tah  si-ah  ko-pa  Frazer  chuck?"  would  be, 
"  How  far  is  it  to  the  Frazer  riveri!" 

''Yutes  kut  klat-a-wa  la-pe-a,"   "Only   a  short 

(102) 


AND   OTHER  HITNTING  x\DVENTUIlES.  103 

walk."  If  you  wish  to  say  good-morning  or  good- 
evening  to  an  Indian  you  say: 

''Kla-how-ya,  six." 

*'  Cliah-co  yah-wa  "  is  "  Come  here." 

''Mi-ka  tik-eh  mam-ook?"  "Do  you  want  to 
workf 

' ' Ik-ta  mi-ka  mam-ook?' '     "At  what?' ' 

"  Mam-ook  stick."     "  Cut  some  wood." 

"Na-wit-ka."     "Certainly." 

"  Kon-si  dat-la  spose  mi-ka  mam-ook  kon-a-way 
o-koke  stick?"  "What  do  you  want  for  cutting 
that  lot  of  wood?" 

"Iktdolla."     "One  dollar." 

The  numerals  are  ikt  (one),  mox  (two),  klone 
(three),  lock-it  (four),  kwin-num  (live),  tagh-kum 
(six),  sin-na  mox  (seven),  sto  te-kin  (eight),  twaist 
(nine),  tah-tlum  (ten),  tah-tlum  pee-ikt  (eleven),  tah- 
tlum  pee-mox  (twelve),  mox-tah  tlum  (twenty), 
klone  tah-tlum  (thirty),  ikt  tali-kamo-nux  (one 
hundred),  tah-tlum  to-ka  mo-mik  (one  thousand), 
etc.  It  is  often  difficult  to  get  accurate  information 
from  these  Indians  as  to  distances  or  time,  as  they 
have  little  idea  of  English  miles  or  of  the  measure- 
ments of  time,  and  very  few  of  them  own  or  know 
how  to  read  a  watch  or  clock.  Under  Pean's  tutelage 
I  learned  rapidly,  and  was  soon  able  to  carry  on 
quite  an  interesting  conversation  by  the  aid  of  the 
little  dictionary. 

By  the  light  of  a  rousing  camp-fire  I  cut  a  large 
quantity  of  cedar  boughs  and  made  for  myself  a 
bed  a  foot  deep.  On  this  I  spread  my  sleeping-bag, 
crawled  into  it  and  slept  the  sleep  of  the  weary  hun- 
ter.    Pean  cut  only  a  handful  of  boughs,  spread 


104  CRUISINGS   IX  THE   CASCADES 

them  near  the  fire,  threw  his  coat  over  them,  and  lay 
down.  Then  he  folded  his  two  blankets  and  spread 
them  over  him,  mostly  on  the  side  away  from  the 
fire,  leaving  that  part  of  his  body  next  to  the  fire 
exposed  so  as  to  catch  its  heat  direct.  During  the 
night,  whenever  he  turned  over,  he  would  shift  his 
blankets  so  as  to  keep  them  where  most  needed.  At 
frequent  intervals  he  would  get  up  and  replenish 
the  fire  from  the  large  supply  of  dry  wood  we  had 
provided.  The  night  was  bitter  cold,  at  this  high 
altitude,  and  snow  fell  at  frequent  intervals.  A 
raw  wind  blew,  and  the  old  man  must  have  suffered 
from  the  cold  to  which  he  exposed  himself. 

There  are  few  of  these  savages  that  understand 
and  appreciate  fully  the  value  of  a  good  bed  when 
camping.  In  fact,  many  white  hunters  and  mount- 
aineers go  on  long  camping  trips  with  insufficient 
bedding,  simply  because  they  are  too  lazy  to  carry 
enough  to  keep  them  comfortable.  I  would  rather 
get  into  a  good  warm,  soft  bed  at  night  without  my 
supper,  than  eat  a  feast  and  then  sleep  on  the  hard 
ground,  without  covering  enough  to  keep  me  warm. 
After  a  hard  day's  work  a  good  bed  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  prepare  one  for  the  labor  and  fatigue  of 
the  following  day. 

"  In  bed  we  laugh,  in  bed  we  cry. 
And  born  in  bed,  in  bed  we  die; 
The  near  approach,  a  bed  may  show. 
Of  human  bliss  to  human  woe," 

Any  ablebodied  man  may  endure  a  few  nights  of 
cold,  comfortless  sleep,  but  it  will  tell  on  him  sooner 
or  later;    while  if  he  sleep  comfortably  and  eat 


AND   OTHER  IIUNTING   ADVENTURES.  105 

heartily,  lie  may  endure  an  incredible  amount  of 
labor  and  hardship  of  other  kinds.  You  may  tramp 
all  day  with  your  feet  wet,  and  all  your  clothing 
wet,  if  need  be,  but  be  sure  you  crawl  into  a  good, 
warm,  dry  bed  at  night. 

Old  Pean  complained  of  feeling  unwell  during  the 
evening,  and  in  the  morning  when  we  got  up  said 
he  was  sick.  I  prepared  a  good  breakfast,  but  he 
could  not,  or  at  least  would  not,  eat.  Then  he  told 
me  that  he  had  once  fallen  down  a  mountain;  that 
his  breast-bone  had  been  crushed  in  by  striking  on 
a  sbarp  rock,  and  that  it  always  hurt  him  since 
when  doing  any  hard  work.  He  said  the  climb  up 
the  mountain  with  the  pack  was  too  hard  for  him 
and  he  was  played  out,  that  he  could  go  no 
farther. 

Here  was  another  bitter  disappointment,  as  we  were 
yet  two  miles  from  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  in 
going  that  distance  a  perpendicular  ascent  of  from 
2,000  to  3,000  feet  must  be  made.  I  deliberated, 
therefore,  as  to  whether  I  should  go  up  the  mount- 
ain alone  and  let  Pean  go  back,  but  decided  it 
would  be  useless.  I  could  not  carry  more  load  than 
my  sle3i3ing-bag,  gun,  etc.,  and  therefore  could 
bring  no  game  down  with  me  if  I  killed  it,  not  even 
a  head  or  skin.  Beside,  if  he  went  back  he  would 
take  his  canoe,  and  I  would  be  left  with  no  means 
of  crossing  the  lake.  So  the  only  thing  to  be  done 
was  to  pack  up  and  retrace  our  steps.  On  our  way 
down  we  stopped  and  took  the  head  and  skin  off  of 
the  deer  killed  the  day  before,  and  I  carried  them 
to  the  canoe.  Arriving  at  the  lake,  we  pulled  again 
for  Chehalis  in  a  cold,  disagreeable  rain.    I  stopped 


106 


CRtJISINGS   IX   THE   CASCADES. 


at  the  hot  springs  on  my  way  down,  and  took  my 
leave  of  my  host,  Mr.  Brown,  Avho  had  been  so  kind 
to  me,  and  who  regretted  my  ill  luck  almost  as 
much  as  I  did. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

|N  our  return  to  Chehalis— that  town  of 
unsavory  odors  and  salmon-drying, 
salmon-smoking  Siwashes — I  at  once 
employed  two  other  Indians,  named  John 
and  Seymour,  and,  on  the  following  day  we 
started  up  Ski-ik-kul  Creek,  to  a  lake  of  the 
same  name,  in  which  it  heads  ten  miles  back  in 
the  mountains.  The  Indians  claimed  that  goats,  or 
slieep,  as  they  call  them,  were  plentiful  on  the  cliffs 
surrounding  this  lake,  and  that  we  could  kill  plenty 
of  them  from  a  raft  while  floating  up  and  down 
along  the  shores.  Seymour  claimed  to  have  killed 
twenty-three  in  March  last,  just  after  the  winter 
snows  had  gone  off,  and  a  party  of  seven  Siwashes 
from  Chehalis  had  killed  ten  about  two  weeks  pre- 
vious to  the  date  of  my  visit. 

Such  glowing  accounts  as  these  built  up  my  hopes 
again  to  such  a  height  as  to  banish  from  my  mind  all 
recollection  of  the  bitter  disappointment  in  which  the 
former  expedition  had  ended,  and,  although  the 
rain  continued  to  fall  heavily  at  short  intervals,  so 
that  the  underbrush  reeked  with  dampness  and 
drenching  showers  fell  from  every  bush  we  touched, 
I  trudged  cheerily  along  regardless  of  all  discom- 
forts. 

The  first  two  miles  up  the  creek,  we  had  a  good, 
open  trail,  but  at  the  end  of  this  we  climbed  a  steep, 

(107) 


108  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

rocky  bluff,  about  500  feet  high,  and  made  the  greater 
portion  of  the  remaining  distance  at  an  average  of 
about  this  height  above  the  stream.  There  was  a 
blind  Indian  trail  all  the  way  to  the  lake,  but  it  led 
over  the  roughest,  most  tortuous,  outlandish  country 
that  ever  any  fool  of  a  goat  hunter  attempted  to 
traverse.  There  are  marshes  and  morasses  away  up 
among  these  mountains,  where  alders  and  water 
beeches,  manzanitas,  and  other  shrubs  grow  so  thick 
that  their  branches  intertwine  to  nearly  their  full 
length.  Many  of  these  have  fallen  down  in  various 
directions,  and  their  trunks  are  as  inextricably  mixed 
as  their  branches,  forming  altogether  a  labyrinthine 
mass,  through  which  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty 
we  could  walk  at  all. 

There  were  numberless  little  creeks  coming  down 
from  the  mountain  into  the  main  stream,  and  each 
had  in  time  cut  its  deep,  narrow  gulch,  or  canon, 
lined  on  both  sides  with  rough,  shapeless  masses  of 
rock,  and  all  these  we  were  obliged  to  cross.  In 
many  cases,  they  were  so  close  together  that  only  a 
sharp  hog-back  lay  between  them,  and  we  merely 
climbed  out  of  one  gulch  300  or  400  feet  deep,  to  go 
at  once  down  into  another  still  deeper,  and  so  on. 
Fire  had  run  through  a  large  tract  of  this  country, 
killing  out  all  the  large  timber,  and  many  trees  have 
since  rotted  away  and  fallen,  while  the  blackened 
and  barkless  trunks  of  others,  with  here  and  there  a 
craggy  limb,  still  stand  as  mute  monuments  to 
the  glory  of  the  forest  before  the  dread  element  laid 
it  waste. 

We  camped  that  night  at  the  base  of  one  of  these 
great  dead  firs  around  which  lay  a  cord  or  more 


AND   OTHER  STUNTING  ADVENTURES.  109 

of  old  dry  bark  that  had  fallen  from  it,  and  which, 
with  a  few  dry  logs  we  gathered,  furnished  fuel  for 
a  rousing,  all-night  fire.  Within  a  few  feet  of  our 
camp,  a  clear,  ice-cold  little  rivulet  threaded  its  ser- 
pentine way  down  among  rocks  and  ferns,  and  made 
sweet  music  to  lull  us  to  slee]3.  After  supper,  I 
made  for  myself  the  usual  bed  of  mountain  feathers 
(cedar  boughs),  on  which  to  spread  my  sleeping-bag. 

This  old  companion  of  so  many  rough  Jaunts,  over 
plains  and  mountains,  has  become  as  necessary  a 
part  of  my  outfit  for  such  voyages  as  my  rifle. 
Whether  it  journey  by  day,  on  the  hurricane  deck  of 
a  mule,  in  ths  hatchway  of  a  canoe,  on  my  shoulder 
blades  or  those  of  a  Si  wash,  it  always  rounds  up  at 
night  to  liouse  me  against  the  bleak  wind,  the  driv- 
ing snow,  or  pouring  rain.  I  have  learned  to  prize 
it  so  highly  that  I  can  appreciate  the  sentiments  of 
the  fallen  monarch,  J^apoleon,  on  the  lonely  island 
of  St.  Helena,  when  he  wrote: 

"The  bed  has  become  a  place  of  luxury  tome. 
I  would  not  exchange  it  for  all  the  thrones  in  the 
world  " 

These  Indians,  like  Pean,  and,  in  fact,  all  others 
who  have  seen  the  bag,  are  greatly  interested  in  it. 
They  had  never  seen  anything  like  it,  and  watched 
with  undisguised  interest  the  unfolding  and  prepar- 
ing of  the  article,  and  when  I  had  crawled  into  it, 
and  stowed  myself  snugly  away,  they  looked  at  each 
other,  grunted  and  uttered  a  few  of  their  peculiar 
guttural  sounds,  which  I  imagined  would  be,  if 
translated: 

"Well,  I'll  be  doggoned  if  that  ain't  about  the 
sleekest  trick  I  ever  saw.   Eh?' ' 


110 


CRUISINGS   IN   THE   CASCADES 


"  You  bet  it's  nice  to  sleep  in,  but  heavy  to  carry." 
By  the  way,  some  of  my  readers  may  never  have 
seen  one  of  these  valuable  camp  appendages,  and  a 
description  of  it  may  interest  them.  The  outer  bag  is 
made  of  heavy,  brown,  waterproof  canvas,  six  feet 
long,  three  feet  wide  in  the  centre,  tapered  to  two 


'I    I    I    i^ 


DIAGRAM  OF  SLEEPING-BAG. 

feet  at  the  head  and  sixteen  inches  at  the  foot. 
Above  the  head  of  the  bag  proper,  flaps  project  a 
foot  farther,  with  which  the  occupant's  head  may  be 
comx)letely  covered,  if  desired.  These  are  provided 
with  buttons  and  button-holes,  so  that  they  may  be 
buttoned  clear  across,  for  stormy  or  very  cold 
weather.  The  bag  is  left  open,  from  the  head  down 
one  edge,  two  feet,  and  a  flap  is  provided  to  lap  over 


AND   OTHER  HITXTING  ADVENTURES.  Ill 

this  ox)eiiing.  Buttons  are  sewed  on  the  bag,  and 
there  are  button-holes  in  the  flaps  so  it  may  also  be 
buttoned  up  tightly.  Inside  of  this  canvas  bag  is 
another  of  the  same  size  and  shajDe,  less  the  head 
flaps.  This  is  made  of  Jamb  skin  with  the  v^^ool  on, 
and  is  lined  w^ith  ordinary  sheeting,  to  keep  the 
wool  from  coming  in  direct  contact  with  the  per- 
son or  clothing.  One  or  more  i)airs  of  blankets 
may  be  folded  and  inserted  in  this,  as  may  be 
necessary,  for  any  temperature  in  which  it  is  to  be 
used. 

If  the  weather  be  warm,  so  that  not  all  this  cover- 
ing is  needed  over  the  sleeper,  he  may  shift  it  to 
suit  the  weather  and  his  taste,  crawling  in  on  top  of 
as  much  of  it  as  he  may  wish,  and  the  less  he  has 
over  him  the  more  he  will  have  under  him,  and  the 
softer  will  be  his  bed.  Beside  being  w^aterproof ,  the 
canvas  is  windproof ,  and  one  can  button  himself  up  in 
this  house,  leaving  only  an  air-hole  at  the  end  of  his 
nose,  and  sleep  as  soundly,  and  almost  as  com- 
fortably in  a  snowdrift  on  the  prairie  as  in  a 
tent  or  house.  In  short,  he  may  be  absolutely 
at  home,  and  comfortable,  wherever  night  finds 
him,  and  no  matter  wiiat  hormd  nightmares  he 
may  have,  he  can  not  roll  out  of  bed  or  kick  off  the 
covers. 

Nor  will  he  catch  a  draft  of  cold  air  along  the 
north  edge  of  his  spine  every  time  he  turns  over,  as 
he  is  liable  to  do  when  sleeping  in  blankets.  Nor 
will  his  feet  crawl  out  from  under  the  cover  and 
catch  chilblains,  as  they  are  liable  to  do  in  the  old- 
fashioned  way.  In  fact,  this  sleeping-bag  is  one  of 
the  greatest  luxuries  I  ever  took  into  camp,  and  if 


112 


CKUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES. 


any  brother  sportsman  who  may  read  this  wants  one, 
and  can  not  find  an  architect  in  his  neighborhood 
capable  of  building  one,  let  him  communicate  with 
me  and  I  will  tell  him  where  mine  was  made. 


CHAPTER  Xiy. 


,# 

fi' 


ONGr  after  the  Indians  went  to  sleep  I  lay  there, 
looking  into  the  fire  and  thinking.  Many  and 
varied  were  the  fancies  that  chased 
each  other  through  my  restless  brain — 
some  pleasant,  some  unpleasant.  I  pondered  on 
the  novelty,  even  the  danger,  of  my  situation.  I 
was  away  up  there  in  that  wild,  trackless,  mountain 
wilderness,  alone,  sp  far  as  any  congenial  com- 
panionship was  concerned.  Yes,  I  was  worse 
than  alone,  for  the  moment  I  might  close  my  eyes  and 
sleep  I  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  these  two  reckless 
red  men.  True,  they  are  not  of  a  courageous,  war- 
like race,  but  what  might  they  not  do  for  the  sake  of 
plunder  ?  They  could  crush  my  skull  at  a  blow  and 
conceal  my  body  beyond  all  possibility  of  discovery; 
or  they  could  leave  it  and,  saying  I  had  killed  my- 
self by  a  fall,  reveal  its  resting  place  to  anyone  who 
might  care  to  go  in  search  of  me.  I  had  some  prop- 
erty with  me,  especially  my  rifle,  sleeping-bag,  and  a 
small  sum  of  money,  that  I  knew  they  coveted,  and 
I  reflected  that  they  might  already  have  concocted 
some  foul  scheme  for  disposing  of  me  and  getting 
possession  of  my  effects. 

8  (113) 


114  CRUISINGS  IN   THE  CASCADES 

In  their  native  tongue  of  strange,  weird  gutturals^ 
hisses,  and  aspirations,  they  had  conversed  all  the 
evening  of— I  knew  not  what.  John  had  rather 
an  honest,  frank  face,  that  I  thought  bespoke  a 
good  heart,  but  Seymour  had  a  dark,  repulsive 
countenance  that  plainly  indicated  a  treacherous- 
nature.  From  the  first  I  had  made  up  my  mind 
that  he  was  a  thief,  if  nothing  worse.  He  pre- 
tended not  to  be  able  to  speak  or  understand  Eng- 
lish, although  I  knew  he  could.  John  spoke  our 
tongue  fairly,  and  through  him  all  communication 
with  either  or  both  was  hekl.  Should  they  contem- 
plate any  violence  I  Avould  welcome  them  both  to  an 
encounter,  if  only  I  could  have  notice  of  it  a  second 
in  advance.  Their  two  old  smooth -bore  muskets 
would  cut  no  figure  against  the  deadly  stream  of  fire 
that  my  Winchester  express  could  pour  forth.  But 
I  dreaded  the  treachery,  the  stealth,  the  silent  mid- 
night assault  that  is  a  characteristic  of  their  race. 
Yet,  on  further  consideration,  I  dismissed  all  such 
forebodings  as  purely  chimerical.  These  were  civil- 
ized Indians,  living  within  the  sound  of  the  whistle 
of  a  railroad  engine,  and  would  hardly  be  willing  to 
place  themselves  within  the  toils  of  the  law,  by  the 
commission  of  such  a  crime,  even  if  they  had  the 
courage  or  the  desire  to  do  it,  and  I  hoped  they  had 
neither. 

Then  my  fancies  turned  to  the  contemplation  of 
pleasanter  themes.  I  thought  of  the  dear  little 
black-eyed  woman,  whom  I  had  parted  with  on  board 
the  steamer  nearly  a  Aveek  ago.  She  is  homeward- 
bound  and  must  now  be  speeding  over  the  Dakota  or 
Minnesota  prairies,  well  on  toward  St.  Paul.     Will 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  115 

she  reach  home  in  safety  ?  God  grant  it — and  that 
in  due  time  I  may  be  permitted  to  join  her  there. 
Then  other  familiar  images  passed  and  repassed  my 
mental  ken.  The  kind  acts  of  dear  friends,  the 
hospitalities  shown  me  by  strangers  and  passing 
acquaintances  in  distant  lands  and  in  years  long 
agone  came  trooping  through  my  memory,  and  a  feel- 
ing of  gratitude  for  those  kindnesses  supplanted  for 
the  time  that  of  solitude.  Gradually  and  sweetly  I 
sank  into  a  profound  slumber  and  all  was  stillness 
and  oblivion. 

Several  hours,  perhaps,  have  passed,  and  I  am 
thirsty.  I  get  up  and  start  to  the  little  brook  for 
water  ;  to  reach  it  a  log,  lying  across  a  deep  fissure 
in  the  rocks,  must  be  scaled.  With  no  thought  of 
danger  I  essay  the  task  by  the  dying  fire's  uncer- 
tain light  and  that  of  the  twinkling  stars.  I  have 
not  counted  on  the  heavy  covering  of  frost  that  has 
been  deposited  on  the  log  since  dark,  and  stepping 
out  upon  the  barkless  part  of  the  trunk,  my  mocca- 
sins slip,  and  with  a  shriek  and  a  wild  but  unsuccess- 
ful grasp  at  an  overhanging  limb  I  fall  twenty  feet 
and  land  on  the  mass  of  broken  and  jagged  granite 
beneath  !  The  Indians,  alarmed  by  my  cries,  spring 
to  my  relief,  carry  me  to  the  fire,  give  me  stimulants, 
bind  up  my  broken  arm,  and  do  all  in  their  power 
to  alleviate  my  sufferings. 

They  are  not  the  crafty  villains  and  assassins  that 
my  fancy  had  painted.  They  are  kind,  sympathetic 
friends.  I  Realize  that  my  right  collar-bone  and  three 
ribs  on  the  same  side  are  broken,  and  when  I  remem- 
ber where  I  am,  the  deplorableness  and  utter  help- 
lessness of  my  condition  appal  me. 


116 


cruisiinGS  iin  the  cascades 


The  long  hours  until  daylight  drag  slowly  by, 'and 
at  last,  as  the  sun  tips  the  distant  mountain  tops  >vith 
golden  light,  we  start  on  our  perilous  and  painful 
journey  to  the  Indian  village  and  to  the  steamboat 
landing.  The  two  red  men  have  rigged  a  litter  from 
poles  and  blankets,  on  which  they  carry  me  safely 
to  their  homes,  and  thence  in  a  canoe  to  the  landing 


EN  EOUTE  TO  THE  INDIAN  VILLAGE. 

below.  How  the  long,  tedious  journey  thence,  by 
steamer  and  rail,  to  my  own  home  is  accomplished  ; 
how  the  weary  days  and  nights  of  suffering  and 
delirium  which  I  endure  en  route  were  passed,  are 
subjects  too  painful  to  dwell  ui^on.  I  am  finally 
assisted  from  the  sleeper  at  my  destination.  My  wife, 
whom  the  wire  has  informed  of  my  misfortune  and  my 
coming,  is  there.  She  greets  me  with  that  fervent 
love,  that  intensity  of  pity  and  emotion  that  only  a 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


117 


wife  can  feel.  Her  lips  move,  but  her  tongue  is  par- 
alyzed. For  the  time  she  can  not  speak  ;  the  wells  of 
her  grief  have  gone  dry  ;  she  can  not  weep  ;  she  can 
only  act.  I  am  taken  to  my  home,  and  the  suspense, 
the  anxiety,  having  been  lived  out,  the  climax 
having  been  reached  and  passed  I  swoon  away.  Again 
the  surgeon  appears  to  be  racking  me  with  pain  in 
an  effort  to  set  the  broken  ribs,  and  seems  to  be 
making  an  incision  in  my  side  for  that  purpose,  when 
I  awake. 

.  The  stars  shone  brightly  above  me,  the  frost  on 
the  leaves  sparkled  brightly  in  the  fire-light.  It  took 
me  several  minutes  to  realize  that  I  had  been  dream- 
ing. I  searched  for  the  cause  of  the  acute  pain  in 
my  side,  and  found  it  to  be  the  sharp  point  of  a  rock 
that  my  cedar  boughs  had-  not  sufficiently  covered 
and  which  was  trying  to  get  in  between  t  wo  of  my  ribs. 
I  got  up,  removed  it  and  slept  better  through  the 
remainder  cf  the  night. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

|KI-IK-KUL,  or  Chehalis  Creek,  as  the 
whites  call  it,  is  surely  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  streams  in  the  whole  Cascade 
Range.  Its  size  may  be  stated,  approxi- 
mately, as  two  feet  in  depth  by  fifty 
feet  in  width,  at  or  near  the  mouth,  but 
its  course  is  so  crooked,  so  tortuous, 
and  its  bed  so  broken  and  uneven  that 
the  explorer  will  seldom  find  a  reach 
of  it  sufficiently  quiet  and  undisturbed  to  afford 
a  measurement  of  this  character.  At  one  point 
it  is  choked  into  a  narrow  gorge  ten  feet  wide 
and  twice  as  deep,  with  a  fall  of  ten  feet  in  a 
distance  of  thirty.  Through  this  notch  the  stream 
surges  and  swirls  with  the  wild  fury,  the  fearful 
power,  and  the  awe-inspiring  grandeur  of  a  tornado. 
At  another  place  it  runs  more  placidly  for  a  few 
yards,  as  if  to  gather  strength  and  courage  for  a 
wild  leap  over  a  sheer  wall  of  frowning  rock  into 
a  foaming  pool  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  feet  below. 
At  still  another  place  it  seems  to  carve  its  way,  by 
the  sheer  power  of  madness,  through  piles  and 
walls  of  broken  and  disordered  quartz,  granite,  or 
basalt,  even  as  Cortes  and  his  handful  of  Spanish 
cavaliers  hewed  their  way  through  the  massed 
legions  of  Aztecs  at  Tlascala. 

Farther  up,   or  down,   it  is  split   into    various 

(118) 


AND   OTHER  HUT^TING  ADVENTURES.  119 

channels  by  great  masses  of  upheaved  rock,  and 
these  miniature  streams,  after  winding  hither  and 
thither  through  deep,  dark,  narrow  fissures  for 
perhaps  one  or  two  hundred  yards,  reunite  to  form 
this  headlong  mountain  torrent.  Viewing  these 
scenes,  one  is  forcibly  reminded  of  the  poet's  words: 

"How  the  giant  element, 
From  rock  to  rock,  leaps  with  delirious  bound." 

Series  of  cascades,  a  quarter  to  balf  a  mile  long,  are 
met  with  at  frequent  intervals,  which  rival  in  their 
beauty  and  magnificence  those  of  the  Columbia  or 
the  Upper  Yellowstone.  Whirlpools  occur  at  the 
foot  of  some  of  these,  in  which  the  clear,  bright 
green  water  boils,  sparkles,  and  effervesces  like  vast 
reservoirs  of  champagne.  The  moanings  and  roar- 
ings emitted  by  this  matchless  stream  in  its  mad 
career  may  be  heard  in  places  half  a  mile.  At 
many  points  its  banks  rise  almost  perpendicularly 
to  heights  of  300,  400,  or  500  feet.  You  may  stand 
so  nearly  over  the  water  that  you  can  easily  toss  a 
large  rock  into  it,  and  yet  you  are  far  above  the 
tops  of  the  massive  firs  and  cedars  that  grow  at  the 
water's  edge.  Looking  down  from  these  heights 
you  may  see  in  the  crystal  fluid  whole  schools  of 
the  lordly  salmon  plowing  their  way  up  against  the 
almost  resistless  fury  of  the  current,  leaping  through 
the  foam,  striking  with  stunning  force  against  hidden 
rocks,  falling  back  half  dead,  and,  drifting  into  some 
clear  pool  below,  recovering  strength  to  renew  the 
hopeless  assault. 

The  time  will  come  when  an  easy  roadway,  and 
possibly  an  iron  one,  will  be  built  up  this  grand 
canon,  and  thousands  of  tourists  will  annually  stand 


120  CRUISINGS   I^  THE   CASCADKS 

within  its  walls  to  gaze  upon  these  magic  pictures, 
absorbed  in  their  grandeur  and  romantic  beauty.  Nor 
does  the  main  stream  afford  the  only  objects  of 
beauty  and  interest  here.  It  is  a  diamond  set  in  a 
cluster  of  diamonds,  for  many  of  the  little  brooks, 
already  mentioned  as  coming  down  the  mountain 
on  either  side,  are  only  less  attractive  because 
smaller.  Many  of  them  tumble  from  the  tops  of 
rocky  walls,  and  dance  down  among  the  branches  of 
evergreen  trees,  sparkling  like  ribbons  of  silver  in 
the  rays  of  the  noonday  sun. 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  in  his  excellent  work,  *' Hunt- 
ing Trips  of  a  Ran  -liman^"  says:  "  Thirst  is  largely 
a  matter  of  habit."  So  it  may  be,  but  I  am  sadly 
addicted  to  the  habit,  and  I  found  it  one  from  which, 
on  this  trip,  I  was  able  to  extract  a  great  deal  of 
comfort,  for  we  crossed  one  or  more  of  these  little 
brooks  every  hour,  and  I  rarely  passed  one  without 
taking  a  copious  draught  of  its  icy  fluid.  The  days, 
were  moderately  warm,  and  the  hard  labor  we  per- 
formed, walking  and  climbing,  made  these  frequent 
opportunities  to  quench  thirst  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  features  of  the  journey.  I  was  frequently 
reminded  of  Cole' s  beautiful  tribute  to  the  mountain 
brook: 

"  Sleeping  in  crystal  wells, 

Leaping  in  shady  dells, 

Or  issuing  clear  from  the  womb  of  tlie  mountain, 

Sky-mated,  related,  earth's  holiest  daughter; 

Not  the  hot  kiirs  of  wine. 
Is  half  so  divine  as  the  sip  of  thy  lip,  iuspiring  cold  water." 

We  arrived  at  our  destination,  the  foot  of  Ski-ik- 
kulLake  (and  the  source  of  the  creek  ujj  which  we 
had  been  traveling),  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  121 

of  the  second  day  out.  We  made  camp  on  the  bank 
of  the  creek,  and  John  and  I  engaged  in  gathering 
a  supply  of  wood.  After  we  had  been  thus  occu- 
pied for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  I  noticed  that  Sey- 
mour was  nowhere  in  sight,  and  asked  John  where 
he  was. 

"  He  try  spear  salmon.' 

"  What  will  he  spear  him  with?"  I  said.  "  Sharp 
sticks" 

''No.     He  bring  spear  in  him  pocket,"  said  John. 

We  were  standing  on  the  bank  of  the  creek  again, 
and  as  he  spoke  there  was  a  crashing  in  the  brush 
overhead,  and  an  immense  salmon,  nearly  three  feet 
long,  landed  on  the  ground  between  us.  Seymour 
had  indeed  brought  a  spear  with  him  in  his  pocket. 
It  was  made  of  a  fence-nail  and  two  pieces  of  goat 
horn,  witli  a  strong  cord  about  four  feet  long 
attached.  There  was  a  sort  of  socket  in  the  upper 
end  of  it,  and  the  points  of  the  two  pieces  of  horn 
were  formed  into  barbs.  As  soon  as  Seymour  had 
dropped  his  pack  he  had  picked  up  a  long,  dry, 
cedar  pole,  one  end  of  which  he  had  sharpened  and 
inserted  between  the  barbs,  fastening  the  string  so 
that  when  he  should  strike  a  fish  the  spear  point 
would  pull  off.  W^ith  this  simple  weapon  in  hand 
he  had  walked  out  on  the  vast  body  of  driftwood 
with  which  the  creek  is  bridged  for  half  a  mile  below 
the  lake,  and  peering  down  between  the  logs,  had 
found  and  killed  the  fish.  We  made  a  fire  in  the 
hollow  of  a  great  cedar  that  stood  at  the  water's 
edge.  The  tree  was  green,  but  the  fire  soon  ate  a 
large  hole  into  the  central  cavity,  and,  by  fre- 
quent feeding  with  dry  wood,  we  had  a  fire  that 


SUPPER  FOR  TUREK-SAUJfOJH  ROTI. 
(122) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  123 

roared  and  crackled  like  a  great  f  uanace,  all  night. 
It 

"  Kindled  the  gummy  bark  of  fir  or  pine, 
And  sent  a  comf ortabl  3  heat  from  far, 
Which  might  supply  the  sun." 

Seymour  cut  off  the  salmon's  head,  split  the  body 
down  the  back,  and  took  out  the  spine.  Then  he 
spread  the  fish  out  and  put  skewers  through  it  to 
hold  it  flat.  He  next  cut  a  stick  about  four  feet 
long,  split  it  half  its  length,  tied  a  cedar  withe 
around  to  keep  it  from  splitting  further,  and  insert- 
ing the  fish  in  the  aperture,  tied  another  withe 
around  the  ux)per  end.  He  now  stuck  the  other  end 
of  the  stick  into  the  ground  in  front  of  the  fire,  and 
our  supper  was  under  way. 

I  have  often  been  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  eat- 
ing grub  cooked  by  Indians,  both  squaws  and  men, 
and  can  place  my  hand  on  my  heart  and  say  truth- 
fully I  never  hankered  after  Indian  cookery.  In  fact, 
I  have  always  eaten  it  with  a  mental  reservation, 
and  a  quiet,  perhaps  unuttered  protest,  but  I  counted 
the  minutes  while  that  fish  cooked.  I  knew  Sey- 
mour was  no  more  cleanly  in  his  habits  than  his 
kin — in  fact,  he  would  not  have  washed  his  hands 
before  commencing,  nor  the  fish  after  removing  its 
entrails,  had  I  not  watched  him  and  made  him  do  so; 
but  even  if  he  had  not  I  should  not  have  refused  to 
eat,  for  when  a  man  has  been  climbing  mountains 
all  day  he  can  not  afford  to  be  too  scrupulous  in 
regard  to  his  food.  When  the  fish  was  thoroughly 
roasted  on  one  side  the  other  was  turned  to  the  fire, 
and  finally,  when  done  to  a  turn,  it  was  laid  smok- 
ing hot  on  a  platter  of  cedar  boughs  which  I  had 


124  CKUISIXGS   IN   THE   CASCADES. 

prepared,  and  the  savory  odors  it  emitted  would 
have  tempted  the  palate  of  an  epicure.  I  took  out 
my  hunting  knife,  and  making  a  suggestive  gesture 
toward  the  smoking  fish,  asked  John  if  I  should  cut 
off  a  piece;  for  not  withstanding  my  consuming  hun- 
ger, my  native  modesty  still  remained  with  me,  and 
I  thus  liinted  for  an  invitation  to  help  myself. 
' '  Yes, ' '  he  said.  "Cut  off  how  much  you  can  eat. ' ' 
You  can  rest  assured  I  cut  off  a  ration  that  would 
have  frightened  a  tramp.  Good  digestion  waited  on 
appetite,  and  health  on  both.  I  ate  with  the  hunger 
born  of  the  day's  fatigue  and  the  mountain  atmos- 
phere, and  the  Indians  iollowed  suit,  or  rather  led,  and 
in  half  an  hour  only  the  head  and  spine  af  that  fifteen- 
pound  salmon  remained,  and  they  were  not  yet  in  an 
edible  condition.  Near  bedtime,  however,  they  were 
both  spitted  before  the  fire,  and  in  the  silent  watches 
of  the  night,  as  I  awoke  and  looked  out  of  my  downy 
bed,  I  saw  those  two  simple-minded  children  of  the 
forest,  sitting  there  picking  the  last  remaining 
morsels  of  flesh  from  those  two  j^ieces  of  what,  in 
any  civilized  camp  or  household,  would  have  been 
considered  offal.  But  when  a  Siwash  quits  eating  fish 
it  is  generally  because  there  is  no  more  fish  to  eat. 
After  such  a  supper,  charmed  by  such  weird,  novel 
surroundings,  lulled  by  the  music  of  the  rushing 
waters,  and  warmed  b}^  a  glowing  camp-fire,  I  slept 
that  night  with  naught  else  to  wish  for,  at  peace  with 
all  mankind.  Even  "  mine  enemy's  dog,  though  he 
had  bit  me,  should  have  stood  that  night  against  my 
fire  " 


CHAPTEH  XYI. 

[EFORE  going  to  bed,  Seymour  cautioned 
me  tlirougli  liis  interpreter,  the  faithful 
John,  against  getting  out  too  early 
in  the  morning.  He  said  the  goats 
did  not  commence  to  move 
^'^^  around  until  nine  or  ten  o'  clock, ' 
and  if  we  started  out  to  hunt 
before  that  time  we  were  liable  to 
pass  them  asleep  in  their  beds. 
But  I  read  the  hypocrite' s  meaning  between 
his  words;  he  is  a  lazy  loafer  and  loves  to  lit^'  and 
snooze  in  the  morning.  It  was  his  own  comfort, 
more  than  our  success  in  hunting,  that  he  was  con- 
cerned about.  Goats,  as  well  as  all  other  species  of 
large  game,  are  on  foot  at  daylight,  w^hether  they 
have  been  out  all  night  or  not,  and  from  that  time 
until  an  hour  after  sunrise,  and  again  just  before  dark 
in  the  evening,  are  the  most  favorable  times  to  hunt. 
The  game  is  intent  on  feeding  at  these  times  and  is 
not  so  wary  as  at  other  times.  I  told  Seymour  we 
would  get  up  at  four  o'clock,  get  breakfast,  and  be 
ready  to  move  at  daylight.     And  so  we  did. 

The  night  had  been  clear  and  cold;  ice  had  formed 
around  the  margin  of  the  lake,  and  a  hoar  frost  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  deep  covered  the  ground,  the  logs, 
and  rocks  that  were  not  sheltered  by  trees.  Ski-ik- 
kul  or  Willey's  Lake,  as  it  is  termed  by  the  whites, 

(125) 


126  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

is  a  beautiful  little  mountain  tarn  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  wide  and  four  miles  long.  It  is  of  glassy 
transparency,  of  great  depth,  and  abounds  in  mount- 
ain trout,  salmon,  and  salmon  trout.  It  is  walled 
in  by  abrupt,  rocky-faced  mountains  that  rise  many 
hundreds  of  feet  from  the  water's  edge,  and  on 
which  a  scanty  growth  of  laurel,  currant  bushes,  and 
moss  furnish  food  for  tb.e  goats.  Stunted  cedars, 
balsams,  spruces,  and  pines  also  grow  from  small 
fissures  in  the  rocks  that  alford  sufficient  earth  to 
cover  their  roots. 

The  craft  on  which  we  were  to  navigate  this  lake 
was  an  interesting  specimen  of  Indian  nautical 
architecture.  It  was  a  raft  Seymour  had  made  on  a 
former  visit.  The  stringers  were  two  large,  dry, 
cedar  logs,  one  about  sixteen  feet  long,  the  other 
about  twenty;  these  were  held  together  by  four 
poles,  or  cross-ties,  pinned  to  the  logs,  and  a  floor 
composed  of  cedar  clapboards  was  laid  over  all. 
Pins  of  hard,  dry  birch,  driven  into  the  logs  and  tied 
together  at  the  tops,  formed  roAvlocks,  and  the  craft 
was  provided  with  four  large  paddles,  or  oars,  hewed 
out  with  an  ax.  In  fact,  that  was  the  only  tool  used 
in  building  the  raft.  The  pins  had  been  sharpened 
to  a  flat  point  and  driven  firmly  into  sockets  made 
by  striking  the  ax  deeply  into  the  log,  and  instead 
of  ropes,  cedar  withes  were  used  for  lashing.  These 
had  been  roasted  in  the  fire  until  tough  and  flexible, 
and  when  thus  treated  they  formed  a  good  substitute 
for  the  white  sailor's  marline  or  the  cow-boy's  picket 
rope. 

We  boarded  this  lubberly  old  hulk  and  pulled  out 
up  the  north  shore  of  the  lake  just  as  the  morning 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


127 


sun  gave  the  lirst 
golden  tints  to  the 
mountain  tops.  Our 
progress  was  slow 
despite  our  united 
strength  applied  to 
the  oars,  but  it  gave 
us  more  time  to  scan 
the  mountain  sides 
for  game.  I  did  not 
find  it  so  plentiful 
as  I  had  been  prom- 
ised, for  I  had  been 
told  by  the  Indians 
that  we  should  see 
a    dozen    goats 


128  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

the  first  hour,  but  we  had  been  out  more  than  that 
length  of  time  before  we  saw  any.  Finally,  how- 
ever, after  we  had  gone  a  mile  or  more  up  the  lake 
shore,  I  saw  a  large  buck  goat  browsing  among  the 
crags  about  four  hundred  feet  above  us.  He  had  not 
seen  us,  and  dropping  the  oar  I  caught  up  my  rifle. 
The  men  backed  water,  and  as  the  raft  came  to  a 
standstill,  I  sent  a  bullet  into  Lim.  He  sprang 
forward,  lost  his  footing,  came  bounding  and  crash- 
ing to  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  stopped,  stone 
dead,  in  the  brush  at  the  water' s  edge  not  more  than 
twenty  feet  from  the  raft.  We  pushed  ashore  and 
took  him  on  board,  when  I  found,  to  my  disappoint 
ment,  tbat  both  horns  had  been  broken  off  in  the  fall, 
so  that  his  head  was  worthless  for  mounting. 

We  cruised  clear  around  the  lake  that  day  and 
could  not  And  another  goat.  In  the  afternoon  it 
clouded  up  and  set  in  to  rain  heavily  again  in  the 
canon,  while  snow  fell  on  the  mountains  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  above  us.  The  next  morning  I  went  up  a 
narrow  canon  to  the  north,  and  ascending  a  high 
peak  hunted  until  nearly  noon,  when  I  found  two 
more  goats,  a  female  and  her  kid  (nearly  full  growL), 
both  of  which  I  killed,  and  taking  the  skins  and  one 
ham  of  the  kid,  I  returned  to  camp.  It  continued 
to  rain  at  frequent  intervals,  which  robbed  camp  life 
and  hunting  of  much  of  their  charm,  so  I  decided 
to  start  for  home  the  following  morning.  In  the 
afternoon  I  rigged  a  hoo'.c  and  line,  cut  an  alder  pole, 
and  caught  live  fine  trout,  the  largest  seventeen  and 
a  half  inches  long.  Seymour  speared  three  more 
salmon  and  roasted  one  of  them,  so  that  we  had 
another  feast  of  fish  that  night.     We  also  roasted 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  129 

a  leg  of  goat  for  use  on  our  way  home,  and 
spent  the  evening  cleaning  and  drying  the  three 
skins  as  best  we  could  by  the  camp-fire,  to  lighten 
their  weight  as  much  as  possible. 

Meanwhile,  I  questioned  John  at  considerable 
length  regarding  the  nature  of  his  language,  but 
could  get  little  information,  as  he  seemed  unable  to 
convey  his  ideas  on  the  subject  in  our  tongue.  The 
language  of  the  Skowlitz  tribe,  to  which  he  and  Sey- 
mour belong,  is  a  strange  medley  of  gutturals,  aspi- 
rates, coughs,  sneezes,  throat  scrapings,  and  a  few 
words      I  said: 

''Your  language  don't  seem  to  have  as  many 
words  as  ours." 

"  No;  English  too  much.  Make  awful  tired  learn 
him." 

' '  Where  did  you  learn  it?' ' 

"O,  I  work  in  pack  train  for  Hudson  Bay  one 
year,  and  work  on  boat  one  year." 

''  Where  did  the  boat  run?" 

''She  run  nort  from  Victoria,"  he  said. 

"  Where  :to,  Alaska?" 

"O,  Idunno." 

"  How  far  north?" 

"0,  I  dunno.  Take  seven  day.  We  go  to  de 
mout  of  de  river." 

"  What  river?    What  was  the  name  of  the  town?" 

"O,  I  dunno  know  what  you  call  'em." 

And  thus  I  learned,  by  continued  questioning, 
that  he  did  not  know  or  remember  the  English 
names  of  the  places  he  had  visited,  but  that  they 
were  probably  in  Alaska.  He  always  appealed  to 
Seymour  to  reply  to  any  of  my  questions  that  he 


130  CRUisiNGS  i:n^  the  cascades 

could  not  himself  answer,  and  a  question  or  remark 
that  in  our  tongue  liad  taken  a  dozen  words  to 
express  he  would  repeat  in  a  cough,  a  throat-clearing 
sound,  and  a  grunt  or  two.  Seymour  s  answer  would 
be  returned  in  a  half  sneeze,  a  lisp,  a  suppressed 
whistle,  a  slight  groan,  and  an  upturning  of  the  eye. 
Then  John  would  look  thoughtful  while  framing 
the  answer  into  his  pigin  English,  and  it  would 
come  back,  for  instance,  something  like  this: 

"  Seymo  say  he  tink  we  ketch  plenty  sheep  up  dat 
big  mountain,  on  de  top  "  Or,  ''He  say  he  tink 
maybe  we  get  plenty  grouse  down  de  creek.  To- 
morrow we  don't  need  carry  meat,"  etc.  John 
seemed  to  regard  Seymour  as  a  perfect  walking 
cyclopedia  of  knowledge,  and,  in  fact,  he  was  well 
informed  on  woodcraft,  the  habits  of  birds  and 
animals,  Indian  lore,  and  other  matters  pertaining  to 
the  country  in  which  he  lived,  but  outside  of  these 
limits  he  knew  much  less  than  John. 

I  was  disgusted  with  his  pretended  inability  to 
speak  or  understand  English,  for  on  one  of  my 
former  visits  to  the  village  I  had  heard  him  speak 
it,  and  he  did  it  much  better  than  John  could. 
Beside,  Pean  had  told  me  that  Seymour  had 
attended  school  at  the  mission  on  the  Frazer  river, 
and  could  even  read  and  write,  but  now  that  he  had 
an  interpreter  he  considered  it  smart,  just  as  a  great 
many  Indians  do,  to  affect  an  utter  ignorance  of  our 
language.  I  asked  him  why  he  did  not  talk;  told 
him  I  knew  he  could  talk,  and  reminded  him  that  I 
had  heard  him  speak  good  English;  that  I  knew  he 
had  been  to  school,  etc.  He  simply  shook  his  head 
and  grunted.  Then  I  told  him  he  was  a  boiled-down 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


131 


fool  to  act  thus,  and  that  if  he  really  wanted  to 
appear  smarter  even  than  his  fellows,  the  best  way 
to  do  it  was  to  make  use  of  the  education  he  had 
whenever  he  could  make  himself  more  useful  and 
agreeable  by  so  doing.  I  saw  by  the  way  he  changed 
countenance  that  he  understood  every  word  I  said, 
though  he  still  remained  obstinate.  On  several 
occasions,  however,  I  suddenly  fired  some  short, 
sharp  question  at  him  when  he  was  not  expecting  it, 
and  before  stopping  to  think  he  would  answer  in 
good  English. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


TER  making  a  liearty  breakfast  on 
Rocky  Mountain  kid,  salmon,  and  sea 
biscuits,  we  began  our  return  journey 
down  the  creek  in  a  drizzling  rain. 
Our  burdens  were  increased  by  the 
weight  of  the  three  goat  skins,  and 
the  walking  was  rendered  still 
• .  more  precarious  than  before  by 
the  logs,  grass,  soil,  pine  needles, 
and  everything  else  having  become 
so  thoroughly  watersoaked.  If  we 
had  had  hard  climbing  up  the  steep  pitches  on  our 
outbound  cruise,  we  had  it  still  harder  now.  We 
could  not  stick  in  our  toe  nails  as  well  now  as 
before,  and  even  if  we  stuck  in  our  heels  going 
down  a  hill,  they  would  not  stay  stuck  any  better 
than  a  second-hand  postage-stamp.  I  remem- 
bered one  hill,  or  canon  wall,  that  in  the  ascent 
made  us  a  great  deal  of  hard  work,  and  much 
perturbation  of  spirit,  because  it  was  steep, 
rocky,  and  had  very  few  bushes  on  it  that  we 
could  use  as  derricks  by  which  to  raise  ourselves. 
I  dreaded  the  descent  of  this  hill,  now  that  the 
rocks  were  wet,  but  we  made  it  safely.  Not  so, 
however,  the  next  one  we  attempted;  it  was  not  so 
rocky  as  the  other,  and  had  a  goodly  bed  of  blue 
clay,  with  a  shallow  covering  of  vegetable  mold  for 

(132) 


A^B   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  133 

a  surface,  with  a  little  grass  and  a  few  weeds.  It 
was  very  steep,  I  think  about  what  an  architect 
would  call  a  three-quarter  pitch,  but  we  essayed  it 
boldly  and  fearlessly.  Seymour  was  in  the  lead, 
his  faithful  partisan,  John,  followed,  and  I  consti- 
tuted the  tail  end  of  the  procession.  We  had  just 
got  well  over  the  brow,  when  the  end  of  a  dry  hem- 
lock stick  caught  in  the  mansard  roof  of  my  left  foot; 
the  other  end  was  fast  in  the  ground,  and,  though  I 
tried  to  free  myself,  both  ends  stuck;  the  stick 
played  a  lone  hand,  but  it  raised  me  clear  out  in 
spite  pf  my  struggles.  I  uttered  a  mournful  groan 
as  I  saw  myself  going,  but  was  as  helpless  as  a  ten- 
derfoot on  a  bucking  cay  use.  My  foot  was  lifted 
till  my  heel  punched  the  small  of  my  back,  and  my 
other  foot  slid  out  from  under  me;  I  spread  out  like 
a  step  ladder,  and  clawed  the  air  for  succor,  but 
there  was  not  a  bush  or  branch  within  reach.  I  think 
I  went  ten  feet  before  I  touched  the  earth  again,  and 
then  I  landed  head  first  among  John's  legs.  He  sat 
down  on  the  back  of  my  neck  like  a  trip-hammer,, 
and  we  both  assaulted  Seymour  in  the  rear  with 
such  violence  as  to  knock  him  clear  out.  For  a  few 
seconds  we  were  the  worst  mixed  up  community  that 
ever  lived,  I  reckon.  Arms,  legs,  guns,  hats,  packs, 
and  human  forms  were  mingled  in  one  writhing, 
squirming,  surging  mass,  and  groans,  shouts,  and 
imprecations,  in  English,  Chinook,  and  Scowlitz,  rent 
the  air.  Every  hand  was  grabbing  for  something  to 
stop  its  owner,  but  there  were  no  friendly  stoppers 
within  reach;  if  one  caught  a  weed,  or  a  stunted 
juniper,  it  faded  away  from  his  herculean  grasp  like 
dry  grass  before  a  prairie  fire.     I  seemed  to  have  the 


TRYING  TO  GET  UP. 

(134) 


A^B   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  135 

liighest  initial  velocity  of  any  member  of  the  expe- 
dition, and,  though  in  the  rear  at  the  start,  I  was  a 
full  length  ahead  at  the  finish.  We  finally  all 
brought  up  in  a  confused  mass  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
and  it  took  some  time  for  each  man  to  extricate  him- 
self from  the  pile,  and  reclaim  his  property  from  the 
wreck.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  however,  but  little 
damage  was  done.  There  was  a  skinned  nose,  a 
bruised  knee  or  two,  a  sprained  wrist,  and  every- 
body was  painted  with  mud.  All  were,  however, 
able  to  travel,  and  after  that,  when  going  down  steep 
hills,  the  Siwashes  kept  looking  back  to  see  if  I 
were  coming. 

We  performed  several  dangerous  feats  that  day 
and  the  next,  walking  along  smooth,  barkless  logs, 
that  lay  across  some  of  the  deep  gorges;  in  places 
we  were  thirty  feet  or  more  above  the  ground,  or 
rather  rocks,  where  a  slip  would  have  resulted  in 
instant  death.  My  hair  frequently  stood  on  end,  what 
little  I  have  left,  but  John  and  Seymour  always  went 
safely  across  and  I  could  not  afford  to  be  outdone  in 
courage  by  these  miserable,  fish-eating  Siwashes,  so 
I  followed  wherever  they  led.  We  read  that  the 
wicked  stand  on  slippery  places,  but  I  can  see  these 
wicked  people,  and  go  them  about  ten  better,  for  I 
have  stood,  and  even  walked,  on  many  of  these  wet 
logs,  and  they  are  about  the  all-firedest  slipperyest 
things  extant,  and  yet  I  have  not  fallen  off.  I  fell 
only  that  once,  when  I  got  my  foot  in  the  trap,  and 
that  would  have  downed  a  wooden  man.  Just  before 
going  into  camp  that  night,  John  shot  a  grouse, 
but  we  were  all  too  tired  and  hungry  to  cook  it  then, 
and  made  our  meal  on  cold  kid,  fish,  and  biscuits. 


TKYliVa  TO  GET  DOWX. 

(136) 


AND   OTHER  IIUXTIXG   ADVEXTIJRES.  137 

After  supper,  however,  John  dressed  the  bird  and 
laid  it  aside  for  breakfast,  saying  we  would  each 
have  a  piece  of  it  then.  The  rain  ceased  falling  at 
dark,  and  the  stars  came  out,  which  greatly  revived 
our  drooping  spirits.  We  gathered  large  quantities- 
of  dry  wood  and  bark,  so  we  w^ere  able  to  keep  a 
good  fire  all  night.  1  drew  from  a  half -rotten  log,  a 
flat,  slab-like  piece  of  pine,  which  at  flrst  I  failed  to 
recognize.     John  saw  it  and  said: 

''Good.     Dafs  beech." 

' '  Beech, ' '  I  said.  ' '  Why ,  there' s  no  beech  in  this- 
country." 

"No,  beech  wood,  make  good  fire,  good  kindle, 
good  what  you  call  him?    Good  torch." 

"Oh,"  I  said,  " pitch  pine,  eh?" 

"  Yas,  beech  pine."  And  this  was  as  near  as  he 
could  get  to  pitch. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  it  commenced 
to  rain  heavily  again,  and  the  poor  Indians  were  soon 
in  a  pitable  condition,  with  their  blankets  and  cloth- 
ing wet  through.  They  sat  uj)  the  remainder  of  the 
night,  feeding  the  tire  to  keep  it  alive  and  them- 
selves warm,  for  they  had  neither  canvas  or  rubber 
coats,  or  any  other  kind  of  waterproof  clothing. 
They  put  up  some  of  the  longer  pieces  of  the  bark  we 
had  gathered  for  fuel,  and  made  a  passable  shelter, 
but  it  was  so  small,  and  leaked  so  badly,  that  it 
was  far  from  comfortable.  I  pitied  the  poor  fel- 
lows, but  had  nothing  I  could  give  or  even  share 
with  them  for  shelter.  I  got  up  at  five  o'clock,  and 
we  commenced  preparations  for  breakfast.  I  told 
John  he  had  better  cook  the  grouse,  but  he  shook 
his  head,  and  said  sadly: 


138  CRUISINGS  11S[  THE   CASCADES 

''  Seymo,  he  spile  de  grouse." 

''  How  did  lie  do  that?"  I  inquired. 

' '  He  say  put  him  on  stick  by  fire  to  cook  in  de 
night.  Then  he  go  to  sleep  and  stick  burn  off. 
Grouse  fall  in  de  fire  and  burn." 

"That's  too  thin,"  I  said.  ''Seymour  cooked 
that  grouse  and  ate  it  while  you  and  I  were  asleep." 

Seymour  glared  at  me,  but  had  not  the  courage  to 
resent  or  deny  the  charge.  An  Indian  does  not  let 
sleep  interfere  with  his  appetite;  he  eats  whatever 
there  is  first,  and  then  sleeps.  I  divided  the  last  of 
the  bacon  and  biscuits  equally  between  us,  and  with 
a  remnant  of  cold  broiled  salmon,  we  eked  out  a 
scant  breakfast  on  which  to  begin  a  day's  work. 
John  was  clawing  some  white  greasy  substance  from 
a  tin  can  with  his  fingers,  and  spreading  it  on  his 
biscuits  with  the  same  tools.  He  i)assed  the  can  to 
me,  and  said:   . 

"Havebutta?" 

"No,  thanks,"  I  answered;  "I  seldom  eat  butter 
in  camp." 

"Hike  him  all  time,"  he  replied;  "I  never  git 
widout  butta  for  brade  at  home."  This  by  way  of 
informing  me  that  he  knew  what  good  living  was, 
and  practiced  it  at  home.  It  rained  heavily  all  day, 
and  our  tramp  through  the  jungle  was  most  dreary 
and  disagreeable. 

"  The  day  was  dark,  and  cold,  and  dreary; 
It  rained,  and  the  wind  was  never  weary." 

About  three  o'  clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  sat  down 
to  rest  on  the  bank  of  the  creek.  We  had  been  there 
but  a  few  minutes,  when  a  good  sized  black  bear 
€ame  shambling  along  up  the  bank  of  the  creek, 


AND   OTHER  HTTNTING  ADVEI^TURES. 


139 


looking  for  salmon.  The  Indians  saw  liim  when 
a  hundred  yards  or  more  away,  and  flattened  them- 
selves out  on  the  ground  to  await  his  nearer 
aiDproach.  I  raised  my  rifle  to  my  shoulder,  but  they 


ENFAMILLE 

both  motioned  me  to  wait,  that  he  was  yet  too  far 
away.  I  disregarded  their  injunction,  however,  and 
promptly  landed  an  express  bullet  in  the  bear's 
breast.  He  reared,  uttered  a  smothered  groan, 
turned,  made  one  jump,  and  fell  dead.  Now  arose 
the  question  of  saving  his  skin;  it  was  late,  and  we 
were  yet  tliree  miles  from  the  Indijin  village;  to  skin 


140 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES. 


the  bear  then  meant  to  camp  there  for  the  night,  and 
as  the  rain  still  came  down  in  a  steady,  heavy  sheet,  I 
at  once  decided  that  I  would  not  stay  out  there 
another  night  for  the  best  bear  skin  in  the  country. 
Seymour  and  John  held  a  short  consultation,  and 
then  John  said  they  would  come  back  and  get  the  skin 
next  day,  and  take  it  in  lieu  of  the  money  I  owed  them 
for  their  services.  We  struck  a  bargain  in  about  a 
minute,  and  hurried  on,  arriving  at  the  village  just  as 
it  grew  dark.  My  rubber  coat  and  high  rubber  boots 
had  kept  me  comparatively  dry,  but  the  poor  Indians 
were  wet  to  the  skin. 


\  ^ 


CHAPTER  XYIIL 

|N  arriving  at  Chehalis  John  kindly- 
invited  me  to  stop  over  night  with  him, 
but  I  declined  with  thanks.  I  went  into 
his  house,  however,  to  wait  while  he  got 
ready  to  take  me  down  to  Barker's.  It 
was  the  same  type  of  home  that  nearly 
all  these  Indians  have  —  a  large  clap- 
board building  about  eight  feet  high,  with  smoked 
salmon  hung  everywhere  and  a  fire  in  the  centre 
of  the  room,  which,  by  the  way,  w^as  more  of  a 
smoke  than  fire,  curing  the  winter  provender.  A 
pile  of  wood  lay  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  some 
empty  barrels  in  another,  fish- nets  were  liung  in  still 
another,  and  the  family  lived,  principally,  in  the 
fourth.  John  lives  with  his  father-in-law,  mother-in- 
law,  two  brothers-in-law,  one  sister-in-law,  his  wife 
and  three  papooses.  Blankets,  pots,  tinware  and 
grub  of  various  kinds  were  piled  up  promiscuously  in 
this  living  corner,  and  the  little  undressed  kids  hov- 
ered and  shivered  around  the  dull  fire,  suffering  from 
the  cold.  We  were  soon  in  the  canoe  again,  en  route 
to  the  steamboat  landing,  where  we  arrived  soon  after 
dark.  I  regretted  to  part  with  John,  for  I  had  found 
him  a  good,  faithful  servant  and  staunch  friend.  I 
was  glad  to  get  rid  of  Seymour,  however,  for  I  had 
learned  that  he  was  a  contemptible  sneak,  and  told 
him  so  in  as  many  words. 

(141) 


142  CRUISINGS   IN   THE  CASCADES 

En  route  home  I  had  about  two  hours  to  wait  at 
Port  Moody  for  the  boat.  There  w^ere  great  numbers 
of  grebes  and  ducks  in  the  bay,  and  I  asked  the  dock 
foreman  if  there  was  any  rule  against  shooting  there. 
He  said  he  guessed  not ;  he  had  never  seen  anyone 
shooting  there,  but  he  gnessed  there  w^ouldn'  t  be  any 
objection.  I  got  out  my  rifle  and  two  boxes  of  cart- 
ridges and  opened  on  the  birds.  The  ducks  left  at 
once,  but  the  grebes  sought  safety  in  diving,  and  as 
soon  as  the  fusillade  began  a  number  of  gulls  came 
hovering  around,  apparently  to  learn  the  cause  of 
the  racket.  I  had  fine  sport  between  the  two,  and  a. 
large  audience  to  enjoy  it  with  me.  In  ten  minutes 
from  the  time  I  commenced  shooting  all  the  clerks 
in  the  dock  office,  all  the  freight  hustlers  in  the 
warehouse,  all  the  railroad  section  men,  the  ticket- 
agent  and  baggage-master,  numbering  at  least 
twenty  men  in  the  aggregate,  were  clustered  around 
me,  and  their  comments  on  my  rifle  and  shooting 
w^ere  extremely  amusing.  Not  a  man  in  the  party 
had  ever  before  seen  a  Winchester  express,  and  the 
racket  it  made,  the  way  in  which  the  balls  plowed 
up  the  water,  and  the  way  the  birds,  when  hit,  van- 
ished, in  to  thin  air  and  a  few  feathers,  were  myste- 
ries far  beyond  their  jiower  to  solve.  At  the  first  lull 
in  the  firing  half  a  dozen  of  them  rushed  up  and 
wanted  to  examine  the  rifie,  the  fancy  finish  and 
combination  sights  of  which  were  as  profoundly 
strange  to  them  as  to  the  benighted  Indians.  They 
soon  handed  it  back  to  me,  however,  with  the  request 
to  resume  hostilities  against  the  birds ;  they  pre- 
ferred to  seethe  old  thing  work  rather  than  to  handle 
it.     The  gulls  were  soaring  in  close,  and  six  shots^ 


a:n^d  other  hui^ttng  adventures.         148 

rapidly  delivered,  dropped  three  of  them  into  the 
water,  mutilated  beyond  recognition.  This  was 
the  climax ;  the  idea  of  killing  birds  on  the  wing, 
with  a  rifle,  was  something  these  men  had  never 
before  heard  of,  and  two  or  three  examined  my  cart- 
ridges to  see  if  they  were  not  loaded  with  shot, 
instead  of  bullets.  When  they  found  this  suspicion 
was  groundless  they  were  beside  themselves  with 
wonder  and  admiration  of  the  strange  arm.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  required  no  particular  skill  to  kill 
the  gulls  on  the  wing,  for  they  were  the  large  gray 
variety,  and  frequently  came  within  twenty  or  thirty 
feet  of  me,  so  that  anyone  who  could  kill  them  with 
a  shotgun  could  do  so  with  a  rifle. 

Finally  the  steamer  came  in  and  I  went  aboard. 
The  train  arrived  soon  after  and  several  of  its  passen- 
gers boarded  the  boat.  The  gulls  were  now  hover- 
ing about  the  steamer,  picking  up  whatever  particles 
of  food  were  thrown  overboard  from  the  cook-room. 
One  old  Irishman,  who  had  come  in  on  the  train 
from  the  interior  wilds,  walked  out  on  the  quarter 
deck  and  looking  at  them  intently  for  a  few  minutes, 
turned  to  me  and  inquired  : 

"  Phwat  kind  of  burds  is  thim— geese  ? " 
"  Yes,"  I  said,  "thim's  geese,  I  reckon." 
"Well,  be  gorry,  if  I  had  a  gun  here  I' d  shoot 
some  o'thim"  ;  and  he  went  and  told  his  companions 
"there  was  a  flock  of  the  tamest  wild  geese  out  thare 
ye  iver  sawed." 

The  return  journey  to  Portland  was  without  inci- 
dent. There  I  boarded  the  steamer  and  spent 
another  delightful  day  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the 
Columbia  river,  winding  uj)  among  the  grand  basaltic 


144 


CKUisiNGS  IN  THE  cascad:ks 


l!!!i"f"' 


ill 


^'4|ii^!,i:^y!iiil||jf;,iii,^ 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  145 

cliffs  and  towering  mountain  peaks  of  the  Cascade 
Range.  Again  the  little  camera  came  into  requisi- 
tion, and  though  the  day  was  cloudy  and  blusterous, 
though  snow  fell  at  frequent  intervals,  and  though 
the  steamer  trembled  like  a  reed  shaken  by  the  wind, 
I  made  a  dozen  or  more  exposures  on  the  most  inter- 
esting and  beautiful  subjects  as  we  passed  them,  and 
to  my  surprise  many  came  out  good  pictures.  Most 
of  them  lack  detail  in  the  deeper  shadows,  but  the 
results  altogether  show  that  had  the  day  been  clear 
and  bright  all  would  have  been  perfect.  In  short,  it 
is  possible  with  this  dry-plate  process  to  make  good 
pictures  from  a  moving  steamboat,  or  even  from  a 
railway  train  going  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.  I  made 
three  pictures  from  a  Northern  Pacific  train,  coming 
through  the  Bad  Lands,  when  running  twenty-five 
miles  an  hour,  and  though  slightly  blurred  in  the 
near  foreground,  the  buttes  and  bluffs,  a  hundred 
yards  and  further  away,  are  as  sharp  as  if  I  had  been 
standing  on  the  ground  and  the  camera  on  a  tripod; 
and  a  snap  shot  at  a  prairie-dog  town — just  as  the 
train  slowed  on  a  heavy  grade — shows  several  of  the 
little  rodents  in  various  poses,  some  of  them  appar- 
ently trying  to  look  pretty  while  having  their  ''pict- 
ures took." 


10 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


stopped  off    at 
Spokane  Falls, 
on     my    way 
home,  for  a  few 
days'  deer  hunt- 
ing, and  though 

that  region  be  not  exactly  in  the  Cas- 
cades, it  is  so  near  that  a  few  points  in 
relation  to  the  sport  there  may  be 
admissible  in  connection  with  the 
foregoing  narrative.      I    had 
.  advised  my  good  friend.  Dr. 
C.  S.  Penfield,  of   my  com- 
ing,   and    he    had    kindly 
planned  for  me  a   hunt- 
ing trip.    On  the  morn- 
ing   after    my    arrival 
his  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
T.  E.    Jefferson,    took 
me  up  behind  a  pair  of 
good     roadsters     and 
drove     to     Johnston's 
ranch,    eighteen   miles 
from  the  falls,  and  near 
the  foot  of  Mount  Carle- 
ton,  where  we  hoped  to  find 
plenty   of    deer.       We    hunted 

(146) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


147 


there  two  days,  and  though  we  found  signs  reason- 
ably plentiful  and  saw  three  or  four  deer  we  were 
unable  to  kill  any.  Mr.  Jefferson  burned  some 
powder  after  a  buck  and  a  doe  the  first  morning 
after  our  arrival,  but  it  was  his  first  experience  in 

deer  hunting,  so  it  is  not  at 
all  strange  that  the  game 
should  have  escaped.  Mr. 
Jefferson  was  compelled  to 


THE  STAGE  RANCH. 


return  home  at  that  time  on  account  of  a  business 
engagement,  but  Mr.  Johnston,  with  characteristic 
Western  hospitality  and  kindness,  said  T  must 
not  leave  without  a  shot,  and  so  hooked  up  his 
team  and  drove  me  twenty-five  miles  farther 
into  the  mountains,  to  a  place  where  he  said  we 
would  surely  find  plenty  of  game.  On  the  way 
in  we  picked  up  old  Billy  Cowgill,  a  famous  deer 
hunter  in  this  region,  and  took  him  along  as  guide. 


148  CRUISINGS   IIS^  THE   CASCADES 

We  stopped  at  Brooks'  stage  ranch,  on  the  Colville 
road  to  rest  the  team,  and  the  proprietor  gave  us  an 
amusing  account  of  some  experiments  he  had  been 
making  in  shooting  buckshot  from  a  muzzle- loading 
shotgun.  He  had  made  some  little  bags  of  buck- 
skin, just  large  enough  to  hold  twelve  No.  2  buck- 
shot, and  after  tilling  them  had  sewed  up  the  ends. 
He  shot  a  few  of  them  at  a  tree  sixty  yards  away, 
but  they  failed  to  spread  and  all  went  into  one  hole. 
Then  he  tried  leaving  the  front  end  of  the  bag  open, 
and  still  they  acted  as  a  solid  ball;  so  he  had  to  aban- 
don the  scheme,  and  loaded  the  charge  loose,  as  of  old. 
He  concluded,  however,  not  to  fire  this  last  load  at 
the  target,  and  hung  the  gun  up  in  its  usual  place. 
A  few  days  later  he  heard  the  dog  barking  in  the 
woods  a  short  distance  from  the  house,  and  supposed 
it  had  treed  a  porcupine.  Mr.  Brooks'  brother,  who 
was  visiting  at  the  time,  took  the  gun  and  went  out 
to  kill  the  game,  whatever  it  might  be.  On  reaching 
the  place,  he  found  a  ruffed  grouse  sitting  in  a  tree, 
at  which  he  fired.  The  ranchman  said  he  heard  the 
report,  and  his  brother  soon  came  back,  carrying  a 
badly -mutilated  bird;  he  threw  it  into  the  kitchen, 
and  put  the  gun  away;  then  he  sat  down,  looked 
thoughtful,  and  kept  silent  for  a  long  time.  Finally 
he  blurted  out: 

''Say,  Tom;  that  gun  got  away  from  me." 
' '  How  was  that  V '  queried  the  ranchman. 
"I  don't  know;  but  I  shot  pretty  near  straight  up 
at  the  grouse,  and  somehow  the  gun  slii3ped  off  my 
shoulder  and  done  this."  And  opening  his  coat  he 
showed  his  vest,  one  side  of  which  was  split  from 
top  to  bottom;  lie  then  took  out  a  handful  of  his 


AT^D   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  149 

watch  and  held  it  up — one  case  was  torn  off,  the 
crystal  smashed,  the  dial  caved  in,  and  the  running 
gear  all  mixed  up.  The  ranchman  said  he  guessed 
he  had  put  one  of  the  buckskin  bags  of  shot  into 
that  barrel,  and  forgetting  that  fact,  had  added  the 
loose  charge.  He  said  he  reckoned  twenty-four  No. 
2  buckshot  made  too  heavy  a  load  for  an  eight-pound 
gun. 

We  reached  '' Peavine  Jimmy' s  "  mining  cabin, 
which  was  to  be  our  camp,  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  busied  ourselves  till  dark  in  the  usual 
duties  of  cooking,  eating,  and  gathering  wood.  Old 
Billy  proved  a  very  interesting  character;  he  is  a 
simple,  quiet,  honest,  unpretentious  old  man,  and 
unlike  most  backwoodsmen,  a  veritable  coward.  He 
has  the  rare  good  sense,  however,  to  admit  it  frankly, 
and  thus  disarms  criticism.  In  fact,  his  frequent 
admission  of  this  weakness  is  amusing.  He  says 
that  for  fear  of  getting  lost  he  does  not  like  to  go  off 
a  trail  when  hunting,  unless  there  is  snow  on  the 
ground,  so  that  he  can  track  himself  back  into  camp. 
He  rides  an  old  buckskin  pony  that  is  as  modest  and 
gentle  as  its  master.  Billy  says  he  often  gets  lost 
when  he  does  venture  away  from  the  trail,  but  in 
such  cases  he  just  gives  old  Buck  therein,  hits  him  a 
slap,  and  tells  him  to  go  to  camp  and  he  soon  gets 
there.  He  told  us  a  bear  story  that  night,  worthy  of 
repetition.  Something  was  said  that  reminded  him 
of  it,  and  he  mentioned  it,  but  added,  modestly, 
that  he  didn't  know  as  we  cared  for  any  bear 
stories.  But  we  said  we  were  very  fond  of  them, 
and  urged  the  recital. 

"  Well,  then,"  he  said,  ''if  you  will  wait  a  minute, 


150  CKUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

I'll  take  a  drink  of  water  first  and  then  I' 11  tell  it  to 
you,"  and  he  laughed  a  kind  of  boyish  titter,  and 
began: 

"  Well,  me  and  three  other  fellers  was  up  north 
in  the  Colville  country,  huntin' ,  and  all  the  other 
fellows  was  crazy  to  kill  a  bear.  I  didn't  want  to 
kill  no  bear,  and  didn't  expect  to.  I'm  as  'feard  as 
death  of  a  bear,  and  hain't  no  use  for  'em.  All  I 
wanted  to  kill  was  a  deer.  The  other  fellers,  they 
wanted  to  kill  some  deer,  too,  but  they  wanted  bear 
the  worst.  So  one  mornin'  we  all  started  out,  and 
the  other  fellers  they  took  the  best  huntin'  ground, 
and  said  I'd  better  go  down  along  the  creek  and  see 
if  I  couldn't  kill  some  grouse,  for  they  didn't  believe 
I  could  kill  anything  bigger' n  that;  and  1  said,  all 
right,  and  started  off  down  the  creek.  Purty  soon  I 
come  to  an  old  mill  that  wasn't  runnin'  then.  And 
when  I  got  purty  near  to  the  mill  I  set  down  on  a 
log,  fori  didn't  think  it  was  worth  while  to  go  any 
furder,  for  I  didn't  think  I  would  find  any  game 
down  the  creek,  and  I  didn't  care  much  whether  I 
did  or  not.  Well,  I  heard  a  kind  of  a  racket  in  the 
mill,  and  durned  if  there  wasn't  a  big  black  bear 
right  in  the  mill.  And  I  watched  him  a  little  bit, 
and  he  started  out  towards  me.  And  I  said  to  my- 
self, says  I,  '  IN^ow  Billy,  here's  your  chance  to  kill 
a  bear.' 

"I  hadn't  never  killed  no  bear  before,  nor  never 
seed  one  before,  and  durned  if  I  wasn't  skeered 
nearly  to  death.  But  I  thought  there  wasn't  no  use 
of  runnin',  for  I  knowed  he  could  run  faster' n  I 
could,  so  I  took  out  my  knife  and  commenced  cut- 
tin'  down  the  brush  in  front  of  me,  for  I  wanted  to 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  151 

make  a  sliure  shot  if  I  did  shoot,  if  I  could.  And 
the  bear,  he  come  out  of  the  mill  and  rared  up,  and 
put  his  paws  on  a  log  and  looked  at  me,  and  I 
said  to  myself,  says  I,  '  JSTow  Billy,  this  is  your 
time  to  shoot' ;  but  I  wasn'  t  ready  to  shoot  yit.  They 
was  one  more  bush  I  wanted  to  cut  out  of  the  way 
before  I  shot,  so  I  cut  if  off  and  laid  down  my  knife, 
and  then  I  took  up  my  gun  and  tried  to  take  aim  at 
his  breast,  but  doggoned  if  I  didn't  shake  so  I 
couldn't  see  the  sights  at  all.  And  I  thought  one 
time  I  wouldn't  shoot,  and  then  I  knowed  the  other 
fellers  would  laugh  at  me  if  I  told  'em  I  seed  a  bear 
and  didn't  shoot  at  him,  and  besides  I  was  afraid 
some  of  'em  was  up  on  the  hillside  lookin'  at  me 
then.  So  I  just  said  to  myself,  says  I,  '  Now  Billy, 
you'  re  goin'  to  get  eat  up  if  you  don' t  kill  him,  but 
you  might  as  well  be  eat  up  as  to  be  laughed  at.' 
So  I  jist  took  the  best  aim  I  could  for  shakin',  an' 
shet  both  eyes  an'  pulled. 

''Well,  I  think  the  bear  must  a  begin  to  git  down 
jist  as  I  pulled,  for  I  tore  his  lower  jaw  off  and  shot 
a  big  hole  through  one  side  of  his  neck.  He  howled 
and  roared  and  rolled  around  there  awhile  and  then 
he  got  still.  I  got  round  where  I  could  see  him,  after 
he  quit  kickin' ,  but  I  was  af eared  to  go  up  to  him, 
so  I  shot  two  more  bullets  through  his  head  to  make 
sure  of  him.  And  then  I  set  down  and  w^aited  a  long 
while  to  see  if  he  moved  any  more;  for  I  was  afeard 
he  mightn't  be  dead  yit,  and  might  be  playin'  possum, 
jist  to  get  ahold  of  me.  But  he  didn't  move  no  more, 
so  I  went  uj)  to  him  with  my  gun  cocked  and  pointed 
at  his  head,  so  if  he  did  move  I  could  give  him  another 
one  right  quick.    An'  then  I  punched  him  a  little  with 


152  CKUISINGS  IlN    THE  CASCADES. 

my  gun,  but  he  didn't  stir.  An'  when  I  found  he 
was  real  dead  I  took  my  knife  and  cut  off  one  of  his 
claws,  an'  then  I  went  back  to  camp,  the  biggest 
feelin'  old  cuss  you  ever  seed. 

*'Well,  arter  while  the  other  fellers  they  all  come 
in,  lookin'  mighty  blue,  for  they  hadn't  any  of  'em 
killed  a  thing,  an'  when  I  told  'em  I'd  killed  a  bear, 
they  wouldn't  believe  it  till  I  showed  'em  the  claw. 
An'  then  they  wouldn't  believe  it,  neither,  for  they 
thought  I'  d  bought  the  claw  of  some  Injin.  And  they 
wouldn'  t  believe  it  at  all  till  they  went  out  with  me 
and  seed  the  bear  and  helped  skin  'im,  and  cut  'im 
up,  and  pack  'im  into  camp.  An'  they  was  the  dog- 
gondest,  disappointedest  lot  of  fellers  you  ever  seed, 
for  we  hunted  five  days  longer,  an'  nary  one  of 'em 
got  to  kill  a  bear  nor  even  see  one.  They  thought  I 
was  the  poorest  hunter  and  the  biggest  coward  in  the 
lot,  but  I  was  the  only  one  that  killed  a  bear  that 
clip." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

were  out  at  daylight  the  next  morning 

and  hunted  all.  day  with  fair  success. 

Johnston  and  Billy  jumped  a  bunch  of 

five  mule-deer,  a  buck,  two  does,  and 

two  fawns.      Johnston    fired  fourteen 

shots  at  them  before  they  got  out  of 

the  country,  and  killed  the  two  does. 

In  sx)eaking  of   it  afterward  Billy  said  he  was  just 

taking  a  good  aim  at    the  old  buck's    eye  when 

Johnston's  gun  cracked    the    first    time,   and    of 

course  the  buck  ran,  so  he  did  not  get  a  shot. 

''But  why  didn't  you  shoot  at  him  running?"  I 
inquired. 

"Because  I  can't  hit  a  jumpin'  deer,"  he  replied, 
frankly,  "and  I  hate  like  thunder  to  miss." 

I  spent  the  day  about  a  mile  from  camp  on  top  of 
Blue  Grouse  Mountain,  a  prominent  landmark  of 
the  country.  A  heavy  fog  hung  about  the  mount- 
ain and  over  the  surrounding  country  until  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  it  lifted  and 
disclosed  a  view  of  surpassing  loveliness.  Away  to 
the  west  and  southwest  there  was  a  level  tract  of 
swampy,  heavily  timbered  country  about  thirty 
miles  long  and  ten  miles  wide.  I  looked  down  on 
the  tops  of  the  trees  composing  this  vast  forest,  and 
they  appeared  at  this  distance  not  unlike  a  vast  field 
of  half -grown  green  grain.    Beyond  this  tract  to  the 

(153) 


Wm 


^ 


ONE  Ul-'  JOHNSTON'S  PRIZES. 

(154) 


AiS^D   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  155 

west  a  chain  of  hills  wound  in  serpentine  curves 
from  north  to  south,  their  parks  and  bits  of  prairie 
gleaming  in  the  sun  like  well-made  farms.  To  the 
north  lay  Loon  Lake  nestling  among  the  pine-clad 
hills,  its  placid  bosom  sparkling  in  the  setting  sun 
like  a  sheet  of  silver.  Farther  to  the  north  and 
northeast  were  two  other  lakes  of  equal  size  and 
beauty,  while  far  distant  in  the  east  were  several 
large  bodies  of  prairie  separated  by  strips  of  pine 
and  fir.  I  longed  for  my  camera,  but  on  account  of 
the  unfavorable  outlook  of  the  morning,  I  had  not 
brought  the  instrument. 

The  following  morning  promised  no  better,  for  the 
fog  hung  like  a  pall  over  the  whole  country;  but  I 
took  the  little  detective  with  me,  hoping  the  mist 
would  lift  as  before;  in  this,  however,  I  was  disap- 
pointed. I  staid  on  the  mountain  from  early  morn- 
ing till  half -past  three,  and  there  being  then  no  pros- 
pect of  a  change  went  down.  Just  as  I  reached  the 
base  I  saw  a  rift  in  the  clouds,  and  supposing  the 
long-wished  change  in  the  weather  was  about  to 
take  place,  I  turned  and  began  the  weary  climb,  but 
again  the  fog  settled  down,  and  I  was  at  last  com- 
pelled to  return  to  camp  without  the  coveted  views. 
I  made  several  exposures  during  the  day  on  crooked, 
deformed,  wind-twisted  trees  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  which,  strange  to  say,  came  out  good. 
The  fog  was  so  dense  at  the  time  that  one  could  not 
see  fifty  yards.  I  used  a  small  stop  and  gave  each 
plate  from  five  to  twenty  seconds,  and  found,  when 
developed,  that  none  of  them  were  over  exposed, 
while  those  given  the  shorter  time  were  under 
exposed.     That  day' s  hunting  resulted  in  three  more 


156 


CRUISmOS  IN  THE   CASCADES 


deer,  and  as  we  then  had  all  the  meat  our  team  could 
take  out  up  the  steep  hills  near  camp,  we  decided  to 
start  for  home  the  next  morning.  While  seated 
around  our  blazing  log  fire  in  the  old  cabin  that  night, 


ARE  YOU  LOOKING  FOR  US? 

Mr.  Johnston  entertained  us  with  some  interesting- 
reminiscences  of  his  extensive  experience  in  the  West. 
He  has  been  a  ''broncho  buster,"  a  stock  ranchman, 
and  a  cow-boy  by  turns,  and  a  recital  of  his  varied 
experiences  in  these  several  lines  would  fill  a  big 
book.     Among  others,  he  told  us  that  he  once  lived 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  157 

in  a  portion  of  California  where  the  ranchmen  raised 
a  great  many  hogs,  but  allowed  them  to  range  at  will 
in  the  hills  and  mountains  from  the  time  they  were 
littered  until  old  enough  and  large  enough  for 
market;  that  in  this  time  they  became  as  wild  as 
deer  and  as  savage  as  peccaries,  so  that  the  only  way 
they  could  ever  be  reclaimed  and  marketed  was  to 
catch  them  with  large,  powerful  dogs,  trained  to  the 
work.  Their  feet  were  then  securely  tied  with  strong 
thongs,  and  they  were  muzzled  and  packed  into 
market  or  to  the  ranches,  as  their  owners  desired,  on 
horses  or  mules. 

Johnston  had  a  pair  of  these  dogs,  and  used  to 
assist  his  neighbors  in  rounding  u|)  their  wild  hogs. 
In  one  case,  he  and  several  other  men  went  with  an 
old  German  ranchman  away  up  into  the  mountains 
to  bring  out  a  drove  of  these  pine- skinners,  many  of 
whom  had  scarcely  seen  a  liuman  being  since  they 
were  pigs,  and  at  sight  of  the  party  the  hogs  stam- 
peded of  course,  and  ran  like  so  many  deer.  The  dogs 
were  turned  loose,  took  up  a  trail,  and  soon  had  a 
vicious  critter  by  the  ears,  when  the  packers  came  up, 
muzzled  and  tied  it  securely.  The  dogs  were  then 
turned  loose  again,  and  another  hog  was  rounded  up 
in  the  same  way.  These  two  were  hung  onto  a  pack- 
animal  with  their  backs  down,  their  feet  lashed 
together  over  the  pack-saddle,  and  their  long,  sharp 
snouts  pointing  toward  the  horse' s  head.  They  were 
duly  cinched,  and  the  horse  turned  loose  to  join  the 
train.  This  operation  was  rejjeated  until  the  whole 
herd  was  corralled  and  swung  into  place  on  the  horses, 
and  the  squealing,  groaning,  and  snorting  of  the  ter- 
rified brutes  was  almost  deafening.     One  pair  of  hogs 


tiaittiiimmmlilllimttiimmm 


(158) 


AND  OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  159 

were  loaded  on  a  little  mule  which  had  never  been 
accustomed  to  this  work,  and,  as  the  men  were  all 
engaged  in  handling  the  other  animals,  the  old  ranch- 
man said  he  would  lead  this  mule  down  the  mountain 
himself.  Johnston  and  his  partner  cinched  the  hogs 
on  in  good  shape,  while  the  Dutchman  hung  to 
the  mule. 

As  they  were  giving  the  ropes  the  final  pull,  Johns- 
ton gave  his  chum  a  wink,  and  they  both  slipped 
out  their  knives,  cut  the  muzzles  off  the  porkers  when 
the  old  man  was  looking  the  other  way,  and  told 
him  to  go  ahead.  He  started  down  the  trail  towing 
the  little  mule,  which  did  not  relish  its  load  in  the 
least,  by  the  halter.  The  hogs  were  struggling  to 
free  themselves,  and,  as  the  thongs  began  to  cut  into 
their  legs,  they  got  mad  and  began  to  bite  the  mule. 

Then  there  was  trouble;  stiff-legged  bucking  set 
in,  and  mule  and  hogs  were  cturned  up  and  down, 
and  changed  ends  so  rapidly  that' for  a  few  minutes 
it  was  hard  to  tell  which  of  the  three  animals  was  on 
the  outside,  the  inside,  the  topside,  or  the  bottom- 
side.  The  poor  little  mule  was  frantic  with  rage  and 
fright,  and  what  a  mule  can  not  and  will  not  do 
under  such  circumstances,  to  get  rid  of  a  load  can  not 
be  done  by  any  four-footed  beast.  He  pawed  the 
air,  kicked,  and  brayed,  jumped  backward,  forward, 
and  sidewise,  and  twisted  himself  into  every  imag- 
inable shape.  The  old  Dutchman  was  as  badly  stam- 
peded as  the  mule;  he  shouted,  yanked,  and  swore 
in  Dutch,  English,  and  Spanish;  he  yelled  to  the 
men  above  to  come  and  help  him,  but  they  were  so 
convulsed  and  doubled  up  with  laughter  that  they 
could  not  have  helped  him  if  they  would. 


160 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 


Finally,  the  mule  got  away  from  the  old  man  and 
went  tearing  down  into  the  canon ;  he  overtook  and 
passed  the  balance  of  the  pack-train,  stampeded  them 
almost  beyond  control  of  the  packers,  and  knocked 
the  poor  hogs  against  trees  and  brush  until  they  were 
almost  dead.  He  ran  nearly  six  miles,  and  being 
unable  to  get  rid  of  his  pack,  fell  exhausted  and  lay 
there  until  the  men  came  up  and  took  charge  of  him. 
The  old  man  accused  Johnston  of  cutting  the  muzzles 

T 


THE  BUCKER  AN  D  THE  BUSTER. 


off  the  hogs,  but  he  and  his  partner  both  denied  it, 
said  they  certainly  must  have  slipped  off,  and  they 
finally  convinced  him  that  that  was  the  way  the 
trouble  came  about. 

This,  with  sundry  other  recitals  of  an  equally 
interesting  nature,  caused  the  evening  to  pass  pleas- 
antly, and  at  a  late  hour  we  turned  into  our  bunks. 
We  were  up  and  moving  long  before  daylight  tlie 
next  morning,  and  as  soon  as  we  could  see  the  trail 


AXD   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  161 

hooked  up  the  team  and  attempted  to  go,  but,  alas 
for  our  hopes  of  an  early  start,  one  of  the  horses 
refused  to  pull  at  the  very  outset — in  short,  he  balked 
and  no  mule  ever  balked  worse.  Johnston  plied  the 
buckskin  until  the  horse  refused  to  stand  it  any 
longer  and  began  to  rear  and  to  throw  himself  on 
the  tongue,  back  in  the  harness,  etc.  Johnston  got  off 
the  wagon,  went  to  the  animaF  s  head  and  tried  to  lead 
it,  but  the  brute  would  not  be  led  any  more  than  it 
would  be  driven,  and  commenced  rearing  and  strik- 
ing at  its  master  as  if  trying  to  kill  him.  This 
aroused  the  ire  of  the  ranchman  and  he  picked  up  a 
piece  of  a  board,  about  four  inches  wide  and  three 
feet  long,  and  fanned  the  vicious  critter  right  vigor- 
ously. I  took  a  hand  in  the  game,  at  Johnston's 
request,  and  warmed  the  cay  use' s  latter  half  to  the 
best  of  my  ability  with  a  green  hemlock  gad.  He 
bucked  and  backed,  reared  and  ranted,  pawed, 
pitched,  plunged  and  pranced,  charged,  cavorted 
and  kicked,  until  it  seemed  that  he  would  surely 
make  shreds  of  the  harness  and  kindling  wood 
of  the  wagon  ;  but  the  whole  outfit  staid  with  him, 
including  Johnston  and  myself. 

We  wore  out  his  powers  of  endurance  if  not  his  hide, 
and  he  finally  got  down  to  business,  took  the  load  up 
the  hill  and  home  to  the  ranch,  without  manifesting 
any  further  inclination  to  strike.  We  reached  the 
ranch  about  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  the  next  day 
Johnston  drove  me  into  Spokane  Falls,  where,  in  due 
time,  I  caught  the  train  for  home. 

Spokane  Falls  is  a  growing,  pushing  town,  and 

the  falls  of  the  Spokane  river,  from  which  the  town 

takes  its  name,  afford  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
11 


(162) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  163 

interesting  sights  on  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
road.  There  are  over  a  dozen  distinct  falls  within  a 
half  a  mile,  one  of  which  is  over  sixty  feet  in  per- 
pendicular height.  Several  of  these  falls  are  split 
into  various  channels  by  small  islands  or  pillars  of 
basaltic  rock.  At  one  place,  where  two  of  these 
channels  unite  in  a  common  plunge  into  a  small 
pool,  the  water  is  thrown  up  in  a  beautiful,  shell- 
like cone  of  white  foam,  to  a  height  of  nearly  six 
feet.  It  is  estimated  by  competent  engineers  that 
the  river  at  this  point  furnishes  a  water-power  equal 
in  the  aggregate  to  that  of  the  Mississippi  at  St. 
Anthony' s  Falls.  Every  passenger  over  this  route 
should  certainly  stop  off  and  spend  a  few  hours 
viewing  the  falls  of  the  Spokane  river. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

HUNTING  THE  GRIZZLY   BEAR. 

bear,  like  man,  inhabits  almost  every 
latitude  and  every  land,  and  has 
even  been  translated  to  the 
starry  heavens,  where  the 
constellations  of  the  Great 
"  Dipper  and  the  Little  Dipper  are 
known  to  us  as  well  as  to  the  ancients  as 
Ursi  Major  and  Minor.  But  North  America 
'furnishes  the  largest  and  most  aggressive  species 
in  the  gvizzlj  {Ursus  horrlbilis),  the  black  {Ursus 
americanus),  and  the  polar  (Ursus  maritimus) 
bears,  and  here  the  hunter  finds  his  most  daring 
sport.  Of  all  the  known  plantigrades  (flat-footed 
beasts)  the  grizzly  is  the  most  savage  and  the  most 
dreaded,  and  he  is  the  largest  of  all,  saving  the 
presence  of  his  cousin  the  polar  bear,  for  which, 
nevertheless,  he  is  more  than  a  match  in  strength 
and  courage.  Some  specimens  measure  seven  feet 
from  tip  of  nose  to  root  of  tail.  The  distinctive 
marks  of  the  species  are  its  great  size;  the  shortness 
of  the  tail  as  compared  with  the  ears;  the  huge  flat 
paws,  the  sole  of  the  hind  foot  sometimes  measur- 
ing seven  and  a  half  by  fiYe  inches  in  a  large  male; 
the  length  of  the  hind  legs  as  compared  with  the 
fore  legs,  which  gives  the  beast  his  awkward,  sham- 
bling gait;  the  long  claws  of  the  fore  foot,  sometimes 
seven  inches  in  length,  while  those  of  the  hind  foot 

(164) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  165 

measure  only  three  or  four;  the  erect,  bristling  mane 
of  stiff  hair,  often  six  inches  long;  the  coarse  hair 
of  the  body,  sometimes  three  inches  long,  dark  at 
the  base,  but  with  light  tips.  He  has  a  dark  stripe 
along  the  back,  and  one  along  each  side,  the  hair  on 
his  body  being,  as  a  rule,  a  brownish-yellow,  the 
region  around  the  ears  dusky,  the  legs  nearly  black, 
and  the  muzzle  pale.  Color,  however,  is  not  a  dis- 
tinctive mark,  for  female  grizzlies  have  been  killed 
in  company  with  two  cubs,  one  of  which  was  brown, 
the  other  gray,  or  one  dark,  the  other  light;  and  the 
supposed  species  of  ' '  cinnamon  "  and  ' '  brown ' ' 
bears  are  merely  color  variations  of  Ursus  horrihilis 
himself. 

This  ubiquitous  gentleman  has  a  wide  range  for  his 
"habitat.  He  has  been  found  on  the  Missouri  river 
from  Fort  Pierre  northward,  and  thence  west  to  his 
favorite  haunts  in  the  Rockies;  on  the  Pacific  slope 
clear  down  to  the  coast;  as  far  south  as  Mexico,  and  as 
far  north  as  the  Great  Slave  Lake  in  British  America. 
He  not  only  ranges  everywhere,  but  eats  everything. 
His  majesty  is  a  good  liver.  He  is  not  properly  a 
beast  of  prey,  for  he  has  neither  the  cat-like  instincts, 
nor  the  noiseless  tread  of  tiiefelidce,  nor  is  he  fleet 
and  long-winded  like  the  wolf,  although  good  at  a 
short  run,  as  an  unlucky  hunter  may  find.  But  he 
hangs  about  the  flanks  of  a  herd  of  buffalo,  with 
probably  an  eye  to  a  wounded  or  disabled  animal, 
and  he  frequently  raids  a  ranch  and  carries  off  a 
sheep,  hog,  or  calf  that  is  penned  beyond  the  possi- 
bility of  escape. 

Elk  is  his  favorite  meat,  and  the  knowing  hunter 
who  has  the  good  luck  to  kill  an  elk  makes  sure 


166 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 


that  its  carcass  will  draw  Mr.  Grizzly  if  he  is  within 
a  range  of  five  miles.  He  will  eat  not  only  flesh, 
fish,  and  fowl,  but  roots,  herbs,  fruit,  vegetables, 
honey,  and  insects  as  well.    Plums,  buffalo-berries, 


DEATH  AND  THE  CAUSE  OF  IT. 

and  choke-cherries  make  a  large  part  of  his  diet  in 
their  seasons. 

The  grizzly  bear  possesses  greater  vitality  and 
tenacity  of  life  than  any  other  animal  on  the  conti- 
nent, and  the  hunter  who  would  hunt  him  must  be 
well  armed  and  keep  a  steady  nerve.  Each  shot  must 
be  cooly  put  where  it  will  do  the  most  good.  Several 


AND  othf:r  hunting  adventures.         167 

are  frequently  necessary  to  stop  one  of  these  savage 
beasts.  A  single  bullet  lodged  in  the  brain  is  fatal. 
If  shot  through  the  heart  he  may  run  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  or  kill  a  man  before  he  succumbs.  In  the 
days  of  the  old  muzzle-loading  rifle  it  was  hazard- 
ous indeed  to  hunt  the  grizzly,  and  many  a  man  has 
paid  the  penalty  of  his  folly  with  his  life.  With 
our  improved  breech -loading  and  repeating  rifles 
there  is  less  risk. 

The  grizzly  is  said  to  bury  carcasses  of  large  ani- 
mals for  future  use  as  food,  but  this  I  doubt.  I- 
have  frequently  returned  to  carcasses  of  elk  or  deer 
that  I  had  killed  and  found  that  during  my  absence 
bears  had  partially  destroyed  them,  and  in  their 
excitement,  occasioned  by  the  smell  or  taste  of  fresh 
meat,  had  pawed  up  the  earth  a  good  deal  there- 
about, throwing  dirt  and  leaves  in  various  directions, 
and  some  of  this  debris  may  have  fallen  on  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  game;  but  I  have  never  seen  where 
any  systematic  attempt  had  been  made  at  burying  a 
carcass.  Still,  Bruin  may  have  play  ad  the  sexton  in 
some  cases.  He  hibernates  during  winter,  but  does 
not  take  to  his  long  sleep  until  the  winter  has 
thoroughly  set  in  and  the  snow  is  quite  deep.  He 
may  frequently  be  tracked  and  found  in  snow  a  foot 
deep,  where  he  is  roaming  in  search  of  food.  He 
becomes  very  fat  before  going  into  winter  quarters, 
and  this  vast  accumulation  of  oil  furnishes  nutriment 
and  heat  sufficient  to  sustain  life  during  his  long 
confinement. 

The  newspapers  often  kill  grizzlies  weighing  1,500, 
1,800,  or  even  2,000  pounds,  and  in  any  party  of 
frontiersmen  "talking  grizzly"  you  will  find  plenty 


168  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

of  men  who  can  give  date  and  place  where  they 
killed  or  helped  to  kill  at  least  1,800  pounds  of 
Bruin. 

"Did  you  weigh  itr' 

''No,  we  didn't  weigh  'im;  but  every  man  as  seed 
'im  said  he  would  weigh  that,  and  they  was  all  good 
jedges,  too." 

And  this  is  the  way  most  of  the  stories  of  big  bear, 
big  elk,  big  deer,  etc.,  begin  and  end.  Bears  are 
usually,  though  not  always,  killed  at  considerable 
distances  from  towns,  or  even  ranches,  where  it  is 
not  easy  to  lind  a  scales  large  enough  to  weigh  so 
much  meat. 

The  largest  grizzly  I  have  ever  killed  would  not 
weigh  more  than  700  or  800  pounds,  and  I  do  not 
believe  one  has  ever  lived  that  would  weigh  1,000 
pounds.  The  flesh  of  the  adult  grizzly  is  tough, 
stringy,  and  decidedly  unpalatable,  but  that  of  a 
young  fat  one  is  tender  and  juicy,  and  is  always  a 
welcome  dish  on  the  hunter's  table. 

The  female  usually  gives  birth  to  two  cubs,  and 
sometimes  three,  at  a  time.  At  birth  they  weigh 
only  about  IJ  to  1^  pounds  each.  The  grizzly  breeds 
readily  in  confinement,  and  several  litters  have  been 
produced  in  the  Zoological  Gardens  at  Cincinnati. 
The  female  is  unusually  vicious  while  rearing  her 
young,  and  the  hunter  must  be  doubly  cautious 
about  attacking  at  that  time.  An  Indian  rarely 
attacks  a  grizzly  single-handed  at  any  time,  and  it  is 
only  when  several  of  these  native  hunters  are  together 
that  they  will  attempt  to  kill  one.  They  value  the 
claws  very  highly,  however,  and  take  great  pride  in 
wearing  strings  of  them  around  their  necks. 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  .169 

The  grizzly  usually  frequents  the  timbered  or 
brush-covered  portions  of  mountainous  regions,  or 
the  timbered  valleys  of  streams  that  head  in  the 
mountains.  He  occasionally  follows  down  the  course 
of  these  streams,  and  even  travels  many  miles  from 
one  stream  to  another,  or  from  one  range  of  mount- 
ains to  another,  across  open  prairie.  I  once  found 
one  on  a  broad  open  plateau  in  the  Big  Horn 
Mountains,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  nearest 
cover  of  any  kind.  He  was  turning  over  rocks  in 
search  of  worms.  At  the  report  of  my  rifle  he  started 
for  the  nearest  canon,  but  never  reached  it.  An 
explosive  bullet  through  his  lungs  rendered  him 
unequal  to  the  journey. 

Few  persons  believe  that  a  grizzly  will  attack  a 
man  before  he  is  himself  attacked.  I  was  one  of 
these  doubting  Thomases  until  a  few  years  ago, 
when  I  was  thoroughly  convinced  by  ocular  demon- 
stration that  some  grizzlies,  at  least,  will  attempt  to 
make  a  meal  off  a  man  even  though  he  may  not  have 
harmed  them  previously.  We  were  hunting  in  the 
Shoshone  Mountains  in  Northern  Wyoming.  I  had 
killed  a  large  elk  in  the  morning,  and  on  going  back 
to  the  carcass  in  the  afternoon  to  skin  it  we  saw  that 
Bruin  had  been  there  ahead  us,  but  had  fled  on  our 
approach.  Without  the  least  apprehension  of  his 
return,  we  leaned  our  rifles  against  a  tree  about  fifty 
feet  away,  and  commenced  work.  There  were  three 
of  us,  but  only  two  rifles,  Mr.  Huffman,  the  photog- 
rapher, having  left  his  in  camp  He  had  flnished 
taking  views  of  the  carcass,  and  we  were  all  busily 
engaged  skinning,  when,  hearing  a  crashing  in  the 
brush  and  a  series  of  savage  roars  and  growls,  we 


170  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

looked  up  the  hill,  and  were  horrified  to  see  three 
grizzly  bears,  an  old  female  and  two  cubs  about  two- 
thirds  grown,  charging  upon  us  with  all  the  savage 
fury  of  a  pack  of  starving  wolves  upon  a  sheepfold. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  we  killed  the  old 
female  and  one  cub;  the  other  escaped  into  the  jun- 
gle before  we  could  get  a  shot  at  him.  The  resolute 
front  we  put  on  alone  saved  our  lives. 

In  another  instance,  when  hunting  deer  in  Idaho, 
I  came  suddenly  upon  a  female  grizzly  and  two  cubs, 
when  the  mother  bear  charged  me  savagely  and 
would  have  killed  me  had  I  not  fortunately  con- 
trolled my  nerves  long  enough  to  put  a  couple  of 
bullets  through  her  and  stop  her  before  she  got 
to  me. 

I  have  heard  of  several  other  instances  of  grizzlies 
making  unprovoked  attacks  on  men,  which  were  so 
well  substantiated  that  I  could  not  question  the 
truth  of  the  reports. 

The  grizzly  is  partially  nocturnal  in  his  habits, 
and  apparently  divides  his  labor  of  obtaining  food 
and  his  traveling  about  equally  between  day  and 
night.  It  is  not  definitely  known  to  what  age  he 
lives  in  his  wild  state,  but  he  is  supposed  to  attain 
to  twenty-five  or  thirty  years.  Several  have  lived  in 
domestication  to  nearly  that  age,  and  one  died  in 
Union  Park,  Chicago,  a  few  years  ago,  that  was 
known  to  be  eighteen  years*  old. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  courage  and  ferocity  of 
this  formidable  beast,  he  will  utter  the  most  pitiable 
groans  and  howls  when  seriously  or  mortally 
wounded. 

Two  brothers  were  prospecting  in  a  range  of  mount- 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  171 

ains  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Stinking  Water 
river.  The  younger  of  the  two,  though  an  able- 
bodied  man,  and  capable  of  doing  a  good  day's  work 
with  a  pick  or  shovel,  was  weak-minded,  and  the 
elder  brother  never  allowed  him  to  go  any  distance 
away  from  camp  or  their  w  ork  alone.  He,  however, 
sent  him  one  evening  to  the  spring,  a  few  rods  off, 
to  bring  a  kettlef ul  of  water.  The  spring  was  in  a 
deep  gorge,  and  the  trail  to  it  wound  through  some 
fissures  in  the  rock.  As  the  young  man  passed 
under  a  shelving  rock,  an  immense  old  female  grizzly, 
that  had  taken  up  temporary  quarters  there,  reached 
out  and  struck  a  powerful  blow  at  his  head,  but  for- 
tunately could  not  reach  far  enough  to  do  him  any 
serious  harm.  The  blow  knocked  his  hat  off,  and 
her  claws  caught  his  scalp,  and  laid  it  open  clear 
across  the  top  of  his  head  in  several  ugly  gashes. 
The  force  of  the  blow  sent  him  spinning  around,  and 
not  knowing  enough  to  be  frightened,  he  attacked 
her  savagely  with  the  only  weapon  he  had  at  hand — 
the  camp  kettle. 

The  elder  brother  heard  the  racket,  and  hastily 
catchng  up  his  rifle  and  hurrying  to  the  scene  of  the 
disturbance,  found  his  brother  vigorously  belabor- 
ing the  bear  over  the  head  with  the  camp  kettle, 
and  the  bear  striking  savage  blows  at  him,  any 
one  of  which,  if  she  could  have  reached  him, 
would  have  torn  his  head  from  his  shoulders. 
Three  bullets  from  the  rifle,  fired  in  rai)id  succf  ssion, 
loosened  her  hold  upon  the  rocks,  and  she  tumbled 
lifelessly  into  the  trail.  The  poor  idiotic  boy  could 
not  even  then  realize  the  danger  through  which  he 
had  passed,  and  could  only  appease  his  anger  by 


172  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

continuing  to  maul  the  bear  over  the  head  with  the 
camp  kettle  for  several  minutes  after  she  was  dead- 
Some  years  ago  I  went  into  the  mountains  with  a 
party  of  friends  to  hunt  elk.  Oar  guide  told  us  we 
should  find  plenty  of  grouse  along  the  trail,  from 
the  day  we  left  the  settlements;  that  on  the  third 
day  out  we  should  find  elk,  and  that  it  would  there- 
fore be  useless  to  burden  our  pack-horses  with  meat. 
We  accordingly  took  none  save  a  small  piece  of 
bacon. 

Contrary  to  his  predictions,  however,  we  found  no 
grouse  or  other  small  game  en  route,  and  soon  ate  up 
our  bacon.  Furthermore,  we  were  five  days  in 
reaching  the  elk  country,  instead  of  three  as  lie  said. 
All  this  time  we  were  climbing  mountains  and  had 
appetites  that  are  known  only  to  mountain  climbers. 
We  had  plenty  of  bread  and  potatoes,  but  these 
were  not  sufficient.  We  hankered  for  flesh,  and 
though  we  filled  ourselves  with  vegetable  food,  yet 
were  we  hungry. 

Finally  we  reached  our  destination  at  midday. 
While  we  were  unloading  the  horses,  a  "fool  hen" 
came  and  lit  in  a  tree  near  us.  A  rifle  ball  beheaded 
her,  and  almost  before  she  was  done  kicking  she 
was  in  the  frying  pan. 

A  negro  once  had  a  bottle  of  whisky,  and  was 
making  vigorous  efforts  to  get  outside  of  it,  when  a 
chum  came  up  and  asked  for  a  pull  at  it.  "  O,  g'  long, 
nigger,"  said  the  happy  owner  of  the  corn  juice. 
"What's  one  bottle  of  whisky  'mong  one  man?" 
And  what  was  one  little  grouse  among  five  lialf- 
starved  men?  The  smell  and  taste  only  made  us 
long  for  more. 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  173 

After  dinner  we  all  went  ont  and  hunted  until 
dark.  Soon  after  leaving  camp  some  of  us  heard 
lively  firing  up  the  canon,  where  our  guide  had 
gone,  and  felt  certain  that  he  had  secured  meat,  for 
we  had  heard  glowing  accounts,  from  him  and  his 
friends,  of  his  prowess  as  a  hunter.  The  rest  of  us 
were  not  so  despondent,  therefore,  when  we  returned 
at  dusk  empty  handed,  as  we  should  otherwise  have 
been,  until  we  reached  camp  and  found  the  guide 
there  wearing  a  long  face  and  bloodless  hands. 

He  told  a  doleful  story  of  having  had  five  fair 
shots  at  a  large  bull  elk,  who  stood  broadside  on,  only 
seventy-five  yards  away,  but  who  finally  became 
alarmed  at  the  fusilade  and  fied,  leaving  no  blood 
on  his  trail.  The  guide  of  course  anathematized 
his  gun  in  the  choicest  terms  known  to  frontiersmen, 
and  our  mouths  watered  as  we  thought  of  what 
might  have  been. 

Our  potatoes,  having  been  compelled  to  stand  for 
meat  also,  had  vanished  rapidly,  and  we  ate  the  last 
of  them  for  supper  that  night.  Few  words  were 
spoken  and  no  jokes  cracked  over  that  meal.  We 
ate  bread  straight  for  breakfast,  and  turning  out 
early  hunted  diligently  all  day.  We  were  nearly 
famished  when  we  returned  at  night  and  no  one  had 
seen  any  living  thing  larger  than  a  pine  squirrel. 
It  is  written  that  "man  shall  not  live  by  bread 
alone, "  and  we  found  that  we  could  not  much  longer. 
And  soon  we  should  not  have  even  that,  for  our 
flour  was  getting  low.  But  we  broke  the  steaming 
flat-cake  again  at  supper,  and  turned  in  to  dream  of 
juicy  steaks,  succulent  joints,  and  delicious  rib 
roasts. 


174  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

We  were  up  before  daylight  to  find  that  six  or 
eight  inches  of  light  snow  had  fallen  silently  during 
the  night,  which  lay  piled  up  on  the  branches  of 
the  trees,  draping  the  dense  forests  in  ghostly  white. 
Our  drooping  spirits  revived,  for  Ave  hoped  that  the 
tell-tale  mantle  would  enable  us  to  find  the  game  we 
so  much  needed  in  oar  business.  We  broke  our 
bread  more  cheerfully  that  morning  than  for  two 
days  previously,  but  at  the  council  of  war  held  over 
the  frugal  meal,  decided  that  unless  we  scored  that 
day  we  must  make  tracks  for  the  nearest  ranch  the 
next  morning,  and  try  to  make  our  scanty  rem- 
nant of  flour  keep  us  alive  until  we  could  get  there. 

Breakfast  over  we  scattered  ourselves  by  the  four 
points  of  the  compass  and  set  out.  It  fell  to  my  lot 
to  go  up  the  canon.  Silently  I  strode  through  the 
forest,  scanning  the  snow  in  search  of  foot- prints, 
but  for  an  hour  I  could  see  none.  Then,  as  I  cautiously 
ascended  a  ridge,  I  heard  a  crash  in  the  brush 
beyond  and  reached  the  summit  just  in  time  to  see 
the  latter  end  of  a  large  bull  elk  disappear  in  the 
thicket. 

He  had  not  heard  or  seen  me,  but  had  winded  me, 
and  tarried  not  for  better  acquaintance.  I  followed  his 
trail  some  three  miles  up  the  canon,  carefully 
penetrating  the  thickets  and  peering  among  the 
larger  trees,  but  never  a  glimpse  could  I  get  and 
never  a  sound  could  I  hear  of  him.  He  seemed 
unusually  wild.  I  could  see  by  his  trail  that  he  had 
not  stopped,  but  had  kept  straight  away  on  that 
long,  swinging  trot  that  is  such  a  telling  gait  of  the 
species,  and  which  they  will  sometimes  keep  up  for 
hours  together.     Finally  I  came  to  where  he  had 


AND    OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  175 

left  the  canon  and  ascended  the  mountain.  I  fol- 
lowed up  this  for  a  time,  but  seeing  that  he  had  not 
yet  paused,  and  finding  that  my  famished  condition 
rendered  me  unequal  to  the  climb,  was  compelled  to 
abandon  the  pursuit  and  with  a  heavy  heart  return 
again  to  the  canon.  I  kept  on  up  it,  but  could  find 
no  other  game  or  sign  of  any.  Like  the  red  hunter, 
in  the  time  of  famine,  who 

"  Vainly  walked  through  the  forest, 
Sought  for  bird,  or  beast,  and  found  none; 
Saw  no  track  of  deer  or  rabbit, 
In  the  snow  beheld  no  foot-prints, 
In  the  ghostly  gleaming  forest 
Fell  f<nd  could  not  rise  from  weakness," 

SO  I  trudged  on  until,  wearied  and  worn  out,  I  lay 
down  beside  a  giant  fir  tree,  whose  spreading 
branches  had  kept  the  snow  from  the  ground,  and 
fell  asleep.  When  I  awoke  my  joints  were  stiff  and 
sore,  and  I  was  chilled  to  the  bone.  It  was  late  in 
the  afternoon,  and  a  quiet,  drizzling  rain  had  set  in. 
I  found  the  trail  that  led  through  the  canon,  and 
started  back  to  camp,  trudging  along  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  for  hunger  was  gnawing  at  my  vitals  and 
my  strength  was  fast  failing. 

"  Over  snow-fields  waste  and  pathless, 
Under  snow-encumbered  branches, 
Empty-handed,  heayy-hearted," 

I  toiled  wearily  on.  The  snow  had  become  satu- 
rated with  the  rain,  and  great  chunks  of  it  were 
falling  from  the  trees  with  dull,  monotonous  sounds. 
^' Slush,  slush,"  "  Splash,  splash,"  came  the  gloomy 
sounds  from  all  parts  of  the  woods.  I  was  nearing 
camp,  and  had  abandoned  all  hope  of  seeing  game. 


176  CRUISIJS^GS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

My  only  object  was  to  reach  shelter,  to  rest,  and 
feast  on  the  unsatisfying  bread.  I  heard  a  succes- 
sion of  the  splashings  that  came  from  my  left  with 
such  regular  cadence  as  to  cause  me  to  look  up, 
when,  great  St.  Hubert !  there  came  a  huge  grizzly 
bear  shambling  and  splashing  along  through  the 
wet  snow.  It  was  his  footsteps  that  I  had  been 
hearing  for  a  minute  or  two  past,  and  -which  I  had, 
at  first,  thought  to  be  the  falling  snow. 

He  had  not  yet  seen  me,  and  what  a  marvelous 
change  came  over  me!  I  forgot  that  I  was  tired; 
that  I  was  weak;  that  I  was  hungry.  The  instincts 
of  the  hunter  reanimated  me,  and  I  thought  only  of 
killing  the  grand  game  before  me.  I  threw  down 
my  rifle,  raising  the  hammer  as  the  weapon  came 
into  position,  and  the  click  of  the  lock  reached  his 
ear.  It  was  the  first  intimation  he  had  of  possible 
danger,  and  he  stopped  and  threw  up  his  head  to 
look  and  listen.  My  thoughts  came  and  went  like 
flashes  of  lightning.  I  remembered  then  the  fam- 
ishing condition  of  myself  and  friends.  Here  was 
meat,  and  I  must  save  it.  There  must  be  no  nerv- 
ousness— no  wild  shooting  now.  This  shot  must 
tell.  And  there  was  not  a  tremor  in  all  my  system. 
Every  nerve  was  as  of  steel  for  the  instant.  The 
little  gold  bead  on  the  muzzle  of  the  rifle  instantly 
found  the  vital  spot  behind  the  bear's  shoulder, 
gleamed  through  the  rear  sight  like  a  spark  of  fire, 
and  before  he  had  time  to  realize  what  the  strange 
apparition  was  that  had  so  suddenly  confronted 
him,  the  voice  of  the  Winchester  was  echoing 
through  the  canon  and  an  express  bullet  had 
crashed  through  his  vitals. 


AXD   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  177 

The  shock  was  so  sudden  and  the  effect  on  him  so 
deadly  that  he  apx)arently  thought  nothing  of  fight, 
but  only  of  seeking  a  place  to  die  in  peace. 

He  wheeled  and  shot  into  a  neighboring  thicket 
with  the  sj)eed  of  an  arrow.  I  fired  at  him  again  as 
he  disappeared.  He  crashed  through  the  jungle  out 
into  the  open  woods,  turned  to  the  right  and  w^ent 
across  a  ridge  as  if  Satan  himself  were  after  him. 
As  the  big  gray  mass  shot  through  a  clear  space 
between  two  trees  I  gave  him  another  speeder,  and 
then  he  disappeared  beyond  a  ridge. 

The  snow  had  melted  rapidly  and  the  ground  was 
bare  in  places,  so  that  I  had  some  trouble  in  trailing 
the  bear,  but  wherever  he  crossed  a  patch  of  snow 
his  trail  was  bespattered  with  blood.  I  followed 
over  the  ridge  and  through  scattering  jack  pines, 
about  two  hundred  yards,  and  found  him  lying 
dead  near  the  trail.  My  first  and  third  bullets  had 
gone  in  behind  his  shoulder  only  an  inch  apart. 
The  first  had  passed  clear  through  him,  and  the 
other  had  lodged  against  the  skin  on  the  opposite 
side.  Several  ribs  were  broken  on  either  side,  and 
his  lungs  and  other  ]3ortions  of  his  interior  were 
ground  into  sausage;  yet  so  great  was  his  vitality 
and  tenacity  to  life  that  he  was  able  to  make  this 
distance  at  a  speed  that  would  have  taxed  the  best 
horse  in  the  country,  and  if  he  had  seen  fit  to  attack 
me  instead  of  running  away  he  would  probably 
have  made  sausage  of  me. 

But  what  feasting  and  what  revelry  there  was  in 
camp  that  night.  It  was  a  young  bear,  fat  as 
butter,  and  rib  roasts  and  cutlets  were  devoured  in 
quantities  that  would  have  shocked  the  modesty  of 

12 


178  CRUISINGS   IN   THE   CASCADES 

a  tramp.  Not  until  well  into  the  niglit  did  we  cease 
to  eat,  and  wrap  ourselves  in  our  blankets.  We  staid 
several  days  in  the  canon  after  that,  and  killed  plenty 
of  elk  and  other  game. 


The  skin  of  the  grizzly  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
trophies  a  sportsman  can  obtain  on  any  field,  and  its 
rarity,  and  the  danger  and  excitement  attending  the 
taking  of  it,  the  courage  it  bespeaks  on  the  part  of 
the  hunter,  render  it  a  prize  of  which  the  winner 
may  justly  feel  proud  for  a  lifetime. 

The  best  localities  in  which  to  hunt  the  grizzly 
bear — that  is,  those  most  accessible  and  in  which  he 
is  now  most  numerous — are  the  Big  Horn,  Shoshone, 
Wind  Eiver,  Bear  Tooth,  Belt,  and  Crazy  Mount- 
ains, in  Wyoming  and  Montana,  all  of  which  may  be 
easily  reached  by  way  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
road. 

The  best  time  of  year  to  hunt  for  this,  as  well 
as  all  the  other  species  of  large  game  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  is  in  the  months  of  September,  October, 
and  November,  though  in  the  latter  month  the 
sportsman  should  not  venture  high  up  into  the 
mountains  where  heavy  snow-falls  are  liable  to 
occur.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  bear  hunting  done 
in  the  summer  months,  but  it  is  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  nature,  and  should  not  be  indulged  in  by  any 
true  sportsman.  The  skins  are  nearly  worthless 
then,  while  in  the  autumn  they  are  prime;  the  heat 
is  oppressive,  and  the  flies  and  mosquitoes  are  great 
pests. 

The  best  arm  for  this  class  of  game  is  a  repeating 
rifle   of  large   calibre,    45  or  50,    carrying  a  large 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  179 

charge  of  pow  der  and  a  solid  bullet.  The  new  Win- 
chester express,  iW,  with  solid  ball,  is  perhaps  the 
best  in  the  market,  all  things  considered. 

There  are  several  methods  of  hunting  the  grizzly, 
the  most  common  being  to  kill  an  elk,  and  then  watch 
the  carcass.  Shots  may  frequently  be  obtained  in 
this  way  early  in  the  morning  or  late  in  the  evening, 
and  on  bright  moonlight  nights  it  is  best  to  watch  all 
night,  for  the  immense  size  of  the  grizzly  renders  him 
an  easy  target  at  short  range  even  by  moonlight. 
Another  method  is  to  still-hunt  him,  the  same  as  is 
done  with  deer.  This  is  perhaps  the  most  sports- 
manlike of  all,  and  if  a  coulee  or  creek  bottom  be 
selected  where  there  are  plenty  of  berries,  or  an 
open,  hilly,  rocky  country,  where  the  bears  are  in 
the  habit  of  hunting  for  worms,  or  any  good  feeding- 
ground  w^here  bear  signs  are  plentiful,  and  due  care 
and  caution  be  exercised,  there  is  as  good  a  chance 
of  success  as  by  any  other  method.  Many  hunters 
set  guns  with  a  cord  running  from  the  trigger  to  a 
bait  of  fresh  meat,  and  the  muzzle  of  the  gun  i3oint- 
ing  at  the  meat;  others  set  large  steel  traps  or  dead- 
falls. But  such  contrivances  are  never  used  by  true 
sportsmen. 

Game  of  any  kind  should  always  be  pursued  in  a 
fair,  manly  manner,  and  given  due  chance  to  j)re- 
serve  its  life  if  it  is  skillful  enough  to  do  so.  If 
captured,  let  it  be  by  the  superior  skill,  sagacity,  or 
endurance  of  the  sportsman,  not  by  traps  which 
close  on  it  as  it  innocently  and  unsuspectingly  seeks 
its  food. 

Grizzly  bear  hunting  is  unquestionably  the  grand- 
est sport  that  our  continent  affords.     The  grizzly 


180 


CRUISINGS   IX  THE   CASCADES. 


is  the  only  really  dangerous  game  we  liav^e,  and  the 
decidedly  hazardous  character  of  the  s^Dort  is  what 
gives  it  its  greatest  zest,  and  renders  it  the  most  fas- 
cinating of  j)ursuits.  Many  sportsmen  proclaim  the 
superiority  of  their  favorite  pastime  over  all  other 
kinds,  be  it  quail,  grouse,  or  duck  shooting,  fox- 
chasing,  deer- stalking,  or  what  not;  and  each  has  its 
charm,  more  or  less  intense,  according  to  its  nature; 
but  no  man  ever  felt  his  heart  swell  with  pride,  his 
nerves  tingle  with  animation,  his  whole  system^low 
with  wild,  uncontrollable  enthusiasm,  at  the  bag- 
ging of  any  bird  or  small  animal,  as  does  the  man 
who  stands  over  the  prostrate  form  of  a  monster 
grizzly  that  he  lias  slain.  Let  the  devotee  of  these 
other  classes  of  sport  try  bear  hunting,  and  when  he 
has  bagged  his  first  grizzly,  then  let  him  talk! 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ELK   HUIiTII^G  IT^  THE   KOCKY 
MOUNTAINS. 

^F  all  the  large  game  on  the  American 
continent,  the  elk  (Cervus  canadensis) 
is  the  noblest,  the  grandest,  the  stateliest. 
1  would  detract  nothing  from  the  noble 
game  qualities  of  the  moose,  caribou,  deer, 
or  mountain  sheep.  Each  has  its  peculiar 
points  of  excellence  which  endear  it  to  the  heart  of 
the  sportsman,  but  the  elk  x)ossesses  more  than  any 
of  the  others.  In  size  he  lowers  far  above  all, 
except  the  moose.  In  sagacity,  caution,  cunning, 
and  Avariness  he  is  the  peer,  if  not  the  superior,  of 
them  all.  He  is  always  on  the  alert,  his  keen  scent, 
his  piercing  eye,  his  acute  sense  of  hearing,  combin- 
ing to  render  him  a  vigilant  sentinel  of  his  own 
safety. 

His  great  size  and  loowerf  ul  muscular  construction 
give  him  almost  unbounded  endurance.  When 
alarmed  or  pursued  he  will  travel  for  twenty  or 
thirty  hours,  at  a  rapid  swinging  trot,  without  stop- 
ping for  food  or  rest.  He  is  a  proud,  fearless  ranger, 
and  even  when  simply  migrating  from  one  range  of 
mountains  to  another,  will  travel  from  seventy-five 
to  a  hundred  miles  without  lying  down.  He  is  a 
marvelous    mountaineer,     and,     considering     his 

(181) 


182  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

immense  size  and  weight,  often  ascends  to  heights 
that  seem  incredible.  He  may  often  be  found  away 
up  to  timber  line,  and  will  traverse  narrow  passes 
and  defiles,  climbing  over  walls  of  rock  and  through 
fissures  where  it  would  seem  impossible  for  so  large 
an  animal,  with  such  massive  antlers  as  he  carries, 
to  go.  He  chooses  his  route,  however,  with  rare 
good  judgment,  and  all  mountaineers  know  that  an 
elk  trail  is  the  best  that  can  possibly  be  selected 
over  any  given  section  of  mountainous  country. 
His  faculty  of  traversing  dense  jungles  and  wind- 
falls is  equally  astonishing.  If  given  his  own  time, 
he  will  move  quietly  and  easily  through  the  worst  of 
these,  leaping  over  logs  higher  than  liis  back  as 
gracefully  and  almost  as  lightly  as  the  deer;  yet  let 
a  herd  of  elk  be  alarmed  and  start  on  a  run  through 
one  of  these  labyrinthine  masses,  and  they  will  make 
a  noise  like  a  regiment  of  cavalry  on  a  precipitous 
charge. 

I  have  stood  on  the  margin  of  a  quaking-asx3 
thicket  and  heard  a  large  band  of  elk  coming 
toward  me  that  had  been  "jumped"  and  fired  upon 
by  my  friend  at  the  other  side,  and  the  frightful 
noise  of  their  horns  pounding  the  trees,  their  hoofs 
striking  each  other  and  the  numerous  rocks,  the 
crashing  of  dead  branches,  with  the  snorting  of  the 
affrighted  beasts,  might  well  have  struck  terror  to 
the  heart  of  anyone  unused  to  such  sights  and 
sounds,  and  have  caused  him  to  seek  safety  in 
flight.  But  by  standing  my  ground  I  was  enabled 
to  get  in  a  couple  of  shots  at  short  range,  and  to 
bring  down  two  of  the  finest  animals  in  the  herd. 

The  whistle  of  the  elk  is  a  sound  which  many 


AND   OTIIEK  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  183 

have  tried  to  describe,  yet  I  doubt  if  anyone  who 
may  have  read  all  the  descriptions  of  it  ever  written 
would  recognize  it  on  a  first  hearing.  It  is  a  most 
strange,  weird,  peculiar  sound,  baffling  all  efforts  of 
the  most  skillful  word-j)ainter.  It  is  only  uttered  by 
the  male,  and  there  is  the  same  variety  in  the  sound 
made  by  different  stags  as  in  different  human  voices. 
Usually  the  cry  begins  and  ends  with  a  sort  of  grunt, 
somewhat  like  the  bellow  of  a  domestic  cow  cut  short, 
but  the  interlude  is  a  long-drawn,  melodious,  flute- 
like sound  that  rises  and  falls  with  a  rhythmical 
cadence,  floating  on  the  still  evening  air,  by  which 
it  is  often  wafted  with  singular  distinctness  to  great 
distances.  By  other  individuals,  or  even  by  the 
same  individual  at  various  times,  either  the  first  or 
last  of  these  abrupt  sounds  is  omitted,  and  only  the 
other,  in  connection  with  the  long-drawn,  silver- 
toned  strain,  is  given. 

The  stag  utters  this  call  only  in  the  love-making 
season,  and  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the 
whereabouts  of  his  dusky  mate,  who  responds  by  a 
short  and  utterly  unmusical  sound,  similar  to  that 
with  which  the  male  begins  or  ends  his  call. 

Once,  when  exploring  in  Idaho,  I  had  an  interest- 
ing and  exciting  experience  with  a  band  of  elk. 
I  had  camped  for  the  night  on  a  high  divide,  between 
two  branches  of  the  Clearwater  river.  The  w^eather 
had  been  intensely  dry  and  hot  for  several  days,  and 
the  tall  rye  grass  that  grew  in  the  old  burn  where  I 
had  pitched  my  camp  w^as  dry  as  powder.  There 
was  a  gentle  breeze  from  the  south.  Fearing  that  a 
spark  might  be  carried  into  the  grass,  I  extinguished 
my  camp-fire  as  soon  as  I  had  cooked  and  eaten  my 


184 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 


THE   WAPITI,  OR  AMERICAN  ELK. 


AXD   OTHER  IIUXTING   ADVENTURES.  185 

supper.  As  darkness  drew  on,  I  went  out  to  picket 
my  horses  and  noticed  that  they  were  acting 
strangely.  They  were  looking  down  the  mountain 
side  with  ears  pointed  forward,  sniffing  the  air  and 
moving  about  uneasily. 

I  gave  their  j)icket  ropes  a  turn  around  convenient 
jack  pines,  and  then  slipping  cautiously  back  to  the 
tent,  got  my  rifle  and  returned.  I  could  see  nothing 
strange  and  sat  down  beside  a  log  to  aw^ait  develoj)- 
ments.  In  a  few  minutes  I  heard  a  dead  limb  break. 
Then  there  was  a  rustling  in  a  bunch  of  tall,  dry 
grass;  more  snapping  of  twigs  and  shaking  of  bushes. 
I  ascertained  that  there  were  several  large  animals 
moving  toward  me  and  feared  it  might  be  a  family 
of  bears.  I  feared  it,  I  say,  because  it  was  now  so 
dark  that  I  could  not  see  to  shoot  at  any  distance,  and 
knew  that  if  bears  came  near  the  horses  the  latter 
would  break  their  ropes  and  stampede.  I  thought 
of  shouting  and  trying  to  frighten  them  off,  but 
decided  to  await  developments.  Presently  I  heard 
a  snapping  of  hoofs  and  a  succession  of  dull,  heavy, 
thumj>ing  noises,  accompanied  by  rex^orts  of  break- 
ing brush,  which  I  knew  at  once  w^ere  made  by  a 
band  of  elk  jumping  over  a  high  log. 

The  game  was  now  not  more  than  fifty  yards 
away  and  in  open  ground,  yet  I  could  not  see  even 
a  movement,  for  I  was  looking  down  toward  a  dark 
canon,  many  hundreds  of  feet  deep.  Slowly  the 
great  beasts  worked  toward  me.  They  were  coming 
down  wind  and  I  felt  sure  could  not  scent  me,  but 
they  could  evidently  see  my  horses,  outlined  against 
the  sky,  and  had  doubtless  heard  them  snorting 
and  moving  about. 


186  CRUISIXGS   IX  THE   CASCADES 

The  ponies  grew  more  anxious  but  less  frightened 
than  at  first,  and  seemed  now  desirous  of  making 
the  acquaintance  of  their  wild  visitors. 

Slowly  the  elk  moved  forward  until  within  thirty 
or  forty  feet  of  me,  when  I  could  begin  to  discern 
by  the  starlight  their  dark,  shaggy  forms.  Then 
they  stopped.  I  could  hear  them  sniffing  the  air 
and  could  see  them  moving  cautiously  from  place 
to  place,  apparently  suspicious  of  danger.  But 
they  were  coming  down  wind,  could  get  no  indica- 
tion of  my  presence,  and  were  anxious  to  interview 
the  horses. 

They  moved  slowly  forward,  and  when  they 
stopped  this  time,  two  old  bulls  and  one  cow, 
who  were  in  the  front  rank,  so  to  speak,  stood 
within  ten  feet  of  me.  Their  great  horns  towered 
up  like  the  branches  of  dead  trees,  and  I  could  hear 
them  breathe. 

Again  they  circled  from  side  to  side  and  I  thought 
surely  they  would  get  far  enough  to  one  quarter  or 
the  other  to  wind  me,  but  they  did  not.  Several 
other  cows  and  two  timid  little  calves  crowded  to  the 
front  to  look  at  their  hornless  cousins  who  now  stood 
close  behind  me,  and  even  in  the  starlight,  I  could 
have  shot  any  one  of  them  between  the  eyes. 

My  saddle  cay  use  uttered  a  low  gentle  whinny, 
whereat  the  whole  band  wheeled  and  dashed  away; 
but  after  making  a  few  leaps  their  momentary  scare 
seemed  to  subside,  and  they  stopped,  looked,  snorted 
a  few  times  and  then  began  to  edge  uj)  again — this 
time  even  more  shyly  than  before. 

It  was  intensely  interesting  to  study  the  caution 
and  circumspection    with    which    these    creatures 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  187 

planned  and  carried  out  their  investigation  all  the 
way  through. 

The  only  mistake  they  made,  and  one  at  which 
I  was  surprised,  considering  their  usual  cunning 
and  sagacity,  was  that  some  of  them  at  least  did  not 
circle  the  horses  and  get  to  tlie  leeward.  But  they 
were  m  such  a  wild  country,  so  far  back  in  the 
remote  fastnesses  of  the  Rockies,  that  they  had 
probably  never  encountered  hunters  or  horses 
before  and  had  not  acquired  all  the  cunning  of  their 
more  hunted  and  haunted  brothers.  After  their 
temjjorary  scare  they  returned,  step  by  step,  to  their 
investigation,  and  the  largest  bull  in  the  bunch 
approached  the  very  log  behind.  Avhich  I  sat.  He 
was  Just  in  the  act  of  stepping  over  it  when  he 
caught  a  wliiif  of  my  breath  and,  with  a  terrific 
snort,  vaulted  backward  and  sidewise  certainly 
thirty  feet.  At  the  same  instant  I  rose  uj)  and 
shouted,  and  the  whole  band  went  tearing  down 
the  mountain  side  making  a  racket  like  that  of  an 
avalanche. 

As  before  stated,  I  could  have  had  my  choice  out 
of  the  herd,  but  my  only  pack-horse  was  loaded  so 
that  I  could  have  carried  but  a  small  piece  of  meat, 
and  was  unwilling  to  waste  so  grand  a  creature  for 
the  little  I  could  save  from  him. 

The  antlers  of  the  bull  elk  grow  to  a  great  size. 
He  sheds  them  in  February  of  each  year.  The  new 
horn  begins  to  grow  in  April.  During  the  summer  it 
is  soft  and  pulpy  and  is  covered  with  a  fine  velvety 
growth  of  hair;  it  matures  and  hardens  in  August ; 
early  in  September  he  rubs  this  velvet  off  and  is  then 
ready  to  try  conclusions  with  any  rival  that  comes  in 


188  CRUISING5  IK   THE  CASCADES 

liis  way.  The  rutting  season  over,  he  has  no  further 
use  for  his  antlers  until  the  next  autumn,  and  they 
drop  off.  Thus  the  process  is  repeated,  year  after 
year,  as  regularly  as  the  leaves  grow  and  fall  from 
the' trees.  But  it  seems  a  strange  provision  of  nature 
that  should  load  an  animal  with  sixty  to  seventy- 
iive  pounds  of  horns,  for  half  the  year,  when 
weax)ons  of  one-quarter  the  size  and  weight  would 
be  equall}^  effective  if  all  were  armed  alike. 

I  have  in  my  collection  the  head  of  a  bull  elk, 
killed  in  the  Shoshone  Mountains,  in  Northern 
Wyoming,  the  antlers  of  which  measnre  as  follows: 

Length  of  main  beam,  4  feet  8  inches;  length  of 
brow  tine,  1  foot  6^  inches;  length  of  bes  tine,  1  foot 
8J  inches;  length  of  royal  tine,  1  foot  7  inches; 
length  of  surroyal,  1  foot  8 J  inches:  circumference 
around  burr,  1  footSi  inches;  circumference  around 
beam  above  burr,  12  inches;  circumference  of  brow 
tine  at  base,  7^mches;  spread  of  main  beams  at  tips, 
4  feet  9  inches.  They  are  one  of  the  largest  and  finest 
pairs  of  antlers  of  Avhich  I  have  any  knowledge. 
The  animal  when  killed  would  have  weighed  nearly 
a  thousand  pounds. 

The  elk  is  strictly  gregarious,  and  in  winter  time, 
especially,  the  animals  gather  into  large  bands,  and 
a  few  years  ago  herds  of  from  Hve  hundred  to  a 
thousand  were  not  uncommon.  Now,  however,  their 
numbers  have  been  so  far  reduced  by  the  ravages 
of  ' '  skin  hunters ' '  and  others  that  one  will  rarely 
find  more  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  in  a  band. 

In  the  fall  of  1879,  a  party  of  three  men  were 
sight-seeing  and  hunting  in  the  Yellowstone  Na- 
tional Park,  and  having  prolonged  their  stay  until 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  189 

late  in  October,  were  overtaken  by  a  terrible  snow- 
storm, which  completely  blockaded  and  obliterated 
all  the  trails,  and  filled  the  gnlches,  canons,  and 
conlees  to  such  a  depth  that  their  horses  could  not 
travel  over  them  at  all.  They  had  lain  in  camp 
three  days  waiting  for  the  storm  to  abate;  but  as  it 
continued  to  grow  in  severity,  and  as  the  snow 
became  deeper  and  deeper,  their  situation  grew  daily 
and  hourly  more  alarming.  Their  stock  of  pro- 
visions was  low,  they  had  no  shelter  sufficient  to 
withstand  the  rigors  of  a  winter  at  that  high  alti- 
tude, and  it  was  fast  becoming  a  question  whether 
they  should  ever  be  able  to  escape  beyond  the  snow- 
clad  peaks  and  snow-filled  canons  with  which  they 
were  hemmed  in.  Their  only  hope  of  escape  was  by 
abandoning  their  horses,  and  constructing  snow- 
shoes  which  might  keep  them  above  the  snow;  but 
in  this  case  they  could  not  carry  bedding  and  food 
enougli  to  last  them  throughout  the  several  days 
that  the  journey  would  occupy  to  the  nearest  ranch, 
and  the  chances  of  killing  game  en  route  after  the 
severe  weather  had  set  in  were  extremely  precarious. 
They "  had  already  set  about  making  snow-shoes 
from  the  skin  of  an  elk  which  they  had  saved.  One 
pair  had  been  completed,  and  the  storm  having 
abated,  one  of  the  party  set  out  to  look  over  the 
surrounding  country  for  the  most  feasible  route  by 
which  to  get  out,  and  also  to  try  if  possible  to  find 
game  of  some  kind.  He  had  gone  about  a  mile 
toward  the  northeast  when  he  came  uiion  the  fresh 
trail  of  a  large  band  of  elk  that  were  moving  toward 
the  east.  He  followed,  and  in  a  short  time  came  -up 
with  them.     They  were  traveling  in  single  file,  led 


190  CRUISINGS   IX   THE   CASCADES 

by  a  powerful  old  bull,  who  wallowed  through  snow 
in  which  only  his  head  and  neck  were  visible,  with 
all  the  patience  and  perseverance  of  a  faithful  old 
ox.  The  others  followed  him — the  stronger  ones  in 
front  and  the  weaker  ones  bringing  up  the  rear. 
There  were  thirty-seven  in  the  band,  and  by  the 
time  they  had  all  w^alked  in  the  same  line  they  left 
it  an  open,  well-beaten  trail.  The  hunter  approached 
within  a  few  yards  of  them.  They  were  greatly 
alarmed  wiien  they  saw  him,  and  made  a  few  bounds 
in  various  directions ;  but  seeing  their  struggles 
were  in  vain,  they  meekly  submitted  to  what  seemed 
their  impending  fate,  and  fell  back  in  rear  of  their 
file-leader.  This  w^ould  have  been  the  golden  oppor- 
tunity of  a  skin  hunter,  who  could  and  would  have 
shot  them  all  down  in  their  tracks  from  a  single 
stand.  But  such  w^as  not  the  mission  of  our  friend. 
He  saw  in  this  noble,  struggling  band  a  means  of 
deliverance  from  what  had  threatened  to  be  a  wintry 
grave  for  him  and  his  companions.  He  did  not  fire 
a  shot,  and  did  not  in  any  way  create  unnecessary 
alarm  amongst  the  elk,  but  hurried  back  to  camp 
and  reported  to  his  friends  what  he  had  seen. 

In  a  moment  the  camp  was  a  scene  of  activity  and 
excitement.  Tent,  bedding,  provisions,  everything 
that  was  absolutely  necessary  to  their  journey,  were 
hurriedly  packed  upon  their  pack  animals;  saddles 
were  placed,  rifles  w^ere  slung  to  the  saddles,  and 
leaving  all  surplus  baggage,  such  as  trophies  of 
their  hunt,  mineral  specimens  and  curios  of  various 
kinds,  for  future  comers,  they  started  for  the  elk 
trail.  They  had  a  slow,  tedious,  and  laborious  task, 
breaking  a  way  through  the  deep  snow^  to  reach  it, 


AND   OTHER  IIUXTIjS^G   ADVENTURES.  191 

but  by  walkin^^  and  leading  their  saddle  animals 
ahead,  the  i^ack  animals  were  able  to  follow  slowly. 
Finally  they  reached  the  trail  of  the  elk  herd,  and 
following  this,  after  nine  days  of  tedious  and  painful 
traveling,  the  party  arrived  at  a  ranch  on  the 
Stinking  Water  river,  which  was  kept  by  a 
"squaw  man"  and  his  wife,  where  they  were 
enabled  to  lodge  and  recruit  themselves  and  their 
stock,  and  whence  they  finally  reached  their  homes 
in  safety.  The  band  of  elk  passed  on  down  the 
river,  and  our  tourists  never  saw  them  again;  but 
they  have  doubtless  long  ere  this  all  fallen  a  prey  to 
the  ruthless  war  that  is  constantly  being  waged 
against  them  by  hunters  white  and  red. 

It  is  sad  to  think  that  such  a  noble  creature  as  the 
American  elk  is  doomed  to  early  and  absolute 
extinction,  but  such  is  nevertheless  the  fact.  Year 
by  year  his  mountain  habitat  is  being  surrounded 
and  encroached  upon  by  the  advancing  line  of  set- 
tlements, as  the  fisherman  encircles  the  struggling 
mass  of  fishes  in  the  clear  pond  with  his  long  and 
closely-meshed  net.  The  lines  are  drawn  closer  and 
closer  each  year.  These  lines  are  the  ranches  of 
cattle  and  sheep  raisers,  the  cabins  and  towns  of 
miners,  the  stations  and  residences  of  employes  of 
the  railroads.  All  these  places  are  made  the  shelters 
and  temporary  abiding  places  of  Eastern  and  for- 
eign sportsmen  who  go  out  to  the  mountains  to 
hunt.  Worse  than  this,  they  are  made  the  perma- 
nent abiding  places,  and  constitute  the  active  and 
convenient  markets  of  the  nefarious  and  unconscion- 
able skin  hunter  and  meat  hunter.  Here  he  can 
find  a  ready  market  for  the  meats  and  skins  he 


AND    OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  193 

brings  in,  and  an  opportnnity  to  spend  the  iDroceeds 
of  such  oatrageous  traffic  in  ranch  whisky  and  rev- 
elry. The  ranchmen  themselves  hunt  and  lay  in 
their  stock  of  meat  for  the  year  when  the  game 
comes  down  into  the  valleys.  The  Indians,  when 
they  have  eaten  up  their  Government  rations,  lie  in 
wait  for  the  elk  in  the  same  manner.  So  that  when 
the  first  great  snows  of  the  autumn  or  winter  fall  in 
the  high  ranges,  when  the  elk  band  together  and 
seek  refuge  in  the  valleys,  as  did  the  herd  that  our 
fortunate  tourists  followed  out,  they  find  a  mixed 
and  hungry  horde  waiting  for  them  at  the  mouth  of 
every  canon.  Before  they  have  reached  the  valley 
where  the  snow-fall  is  light  enough  to  allow  them 
to  live  through  the  winter  their  skins  are  drying  in 
the  neighboring  "shacks." 

This  unequal,  one-sided  warfare,  this  ruthless 
slaughter  of  inoffensive  creatures,  can  not  last 
always.  Indeed,  it  can  last  but  little  longer.  In 
ranges  where  only  a  few  years  ago  herds  of  four  or 
five  hundred  elk  could  be  found,  the  hunter  of 
to-day  considers  himself  in  rare  luck  when  he  finds 
a  band  of  ten  or  .twelve,  and  even  small  bands  of 
any  number  are  so  rare  that  a  good  hunter  may 
often  hunt  a  week  in  the  best  elk  country  to  be 
found  anywhere  without  getting  a  single  shot.  All 
the  Territories  have  good,  wholesome  game-laws 
which  forbid  tlie  killing  of  game  animals  except 
during  two  or  three  months  in  the  fall ;  but  these 
laws  are  not  enforced.  They  are  a  dead  letter  on 
the  statute-books,  and  the  illegal  and  illegitimate 
slaughter  goes  on  unchecked. 

13 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

AIS^TELpPE  HUNTING   IX   MONTANA. 

all  the  numerous  species  of  large  game  to  be 
found  in  the  far  West,  there  is  none  whose 
pursuit  furnishes  grander  sport  to  the  expert 
rifleman  than  the  antelope  {Antilocapra 
americana).  His  habitat  being  the  high, 
open  plains,  he  may  be  hunted  on  horse- 
back, and  with  a  much  greater  degree  of 
comfort  than  may  the  deer,  elk,  bear,  and 
other  species  which  inhabit  the  wooded  or 
mountainous  districts.  His  keen  eyesight, 
his  fine  sense  of  smell,  his  intense  fear  of  his 
natural  enemy,  man,  however,  render  him  the  most 
difficult  of  all  game  animals  to  approach,  and 
he  must  indeed  be  a  skillful  hunter  who  can  get 
within  easy  rifle  range  of  the  antelope,  unless  he 
happens  to  have  the  circumstances  of  wind  and  lie  of 
ground  peculiarly  in  his  favor.  When  the  game  is 
first  sighted,  even  though  it  be  one,  two,  or  three 
miles  away,  you  must  either  dismount  and  picket 
your  horse,  or  find  cover  in  some  coulee  or  draw, 
where  you  can  ride  entirely  out  of  sight  of  the  quarry. 
But  even  under  such  favorable  circumstances  it  is 
not  well  to  attempt  to  ride  very  near  them.  Their 
sense  of  hearing  is  also  very  acute,  and  should  your 
horse' s  hoof  or  shoe  strike  a  loose  rock,  or  should  he 

(194) 


AXD   OTHER   HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  195 

snort  or  neigli,  the  game  is  likely  to  catch  the  sound 
while  you  are  yet  entirely  out  of  sight  and  faraway, 
and  when  you  finally  creep  cautiously  to  the  top  of 
the  ridge  from  which  you  expect  a  favorable  shot, 
you  may  find  the  game  placidly  looking  for  you 
from  the  top  of  another  ridge  a  mile  or  two  farther 
away. 

But  we  will  hope  that  you  are  to  have  better  luck 
than  this.  To  start  with,  we  will  presume  that  you 
are  an  expert  rifleman;  that  you  are  in  the  habit  of 
making  good  scores  at  the  butts;  that  at  800,  900, 
and  1,000  yards  you  frequently  score  200  to  210  out 
of  a  possible  225  points.  We  will  also  suppose  that 
you  are  a  hunter  of  some  experience;  that  you  have 
at  least  killed  a  good  many  deer  in  the  States,  but 
that  this  is  your  first  trip  to  the  plains.  You  have 
learned  to  estimate  distances,  however,  even  in  this 
rare  atmosphere,  and  jDOssess  good  judgment  as  to 
windage.  You  have  brought  your  Creedmoor  rifle 
along,  divested,  of  course,  of  its  Yenier  sight,  wind- 
guage,  and  spirit-level,  and  in  their  places  you  have 
fitted  a  Beach  combination  front  sight  and  Lyman 
rear  sight.  Besides  these  you  have  the  ordinary 
open  step  sight  attached  to  the  barrel  just  in  front  of 
the  action.  This  is  not  the  best  arm  for  anteloi)e  hunt- 
ing; a  Winchester  express  with  the  same  sights 
would  be  much  better;  but  this  will  answer  very  well. 

We  camped  last  night  on  the  bank  of  a  clear, 
rapid  stream  that  gurgles  down  from  the  mountain, 
and  this  morning  are  up  long  before  dayliglit; 
have  eaten  our  breakfasts,  saddled  our  horses, 
and  just  as  the  gray  of  dawn  begins  to  show 
over  the  low,   flat  prairie  to  the  east  of  us,  wj 


196  CRUISINGS   IX   THE   CASCADES 

mount,  and  are  ready  for  the  start.  The  wind  is  from 
the  northeast.  That  suits  us  very  well,  for  in  that 
direction,  about  a  mile  away,  there  are  some  low 
foot-hills  that  skirt  the  valley  in  w^hich  we  are 
camped.  In  or  just  beyond  these  we  are  very  likely 
to  find  antelope,  and  they  will  probably  be  coming 
toward  the  creek  this  morning  for  water. 

We  pat  spurs  to  our  horses  and  gallop  away.  A 
brisk  and  exhilarating  ride  of  ten  minutes  brings  us 
to  the  foot-hills,  and  then  we  rein  up  and  ride 
slowly  and  cautiously  to  near  the  top  of  the  first  one. 
Here  we  dismount,  and,  picketing  our  ponies,  we 
crawl  slowly  and  carefully  to  the  apex.  By  this 
time  it  is  almost  fully  daylight.  We  remove  our 
hats,  and  jyeer  cautiously  through  the  short,  scatter- 
ing grass  on  the  brow  of  the  hill. 

Do  you  see  anything? 

No;  nothing  but  prairie  and  grass. 

No?  Hold!  What  are  those  small,  gray  objects 
away  off  yonder  to  the  left?  I  think  I  saw  one  of 
them  move.  And  now,  as  the  light  grows  stronger, 
I  can  see  white  patches  on  them.  Yes,  they  are 
antelope.  They  are  busily  feeding,  and  we  may 
raise  our  heads  slightly  and  get  a  more  favorable 
view.  One,  two,  three — there  are  five  of  them — two 
bucks,  a  doe,  and  two  kids.  And  you  will  observe 
that  they  are  nearly  in  the  centre  of  a  broad  stretcL 
of  table-land. 

"But,"  you  say,  "may  we  not  wait  lier^  a  little 
while  until  they  come  nearer  to  us?" 

Hardly.  You  see  they  are  intent  on  getting  their 
breakfast.  There  is  a  heavy  frost  on  the  grass, 
which  moistens  it  sufficiently  for  present  purposes,, 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  197 

and  it  may  be  an  hour  or  more  before  they  will  start 
for  water.  It  won't  pay  us  to  wait  so  long,  for  we 
shall  most  likely  find  others  within  that  time  that 
we  can  get  within  range  of  without  waiting  for  them. 
So  you  may  as  well  try  them  from  here. 

Now  your  experience  at  the  butts  may  serve  you 
a  good  turn.  After  taking  a  careful  look  over  the 
ground,  you  estimate  the  distance  at  850  yards,  and 
setting  up  your  Beach  front  and  Lyman  rear  sights, 
you  make  the  necessary  elevation.  There  is  a  brisk 
wind  blowing  from  the  right,  and  you  think  it  nec- 
essary to  hold  off  about  three  feet.  We  are  now 
both  lying  prone  upon  the  ground.  You  face  the 
game,  and  support  your  rifie  at  your  shoulder  by 
resting  your  elbows  on  the  ground.  The  sun  is  now 
shining  brightly,  and  you  take  careful  aim  at  that 
old  buck  that  stands  out  there  at  the  left.  At  the 
report  of  your  rifle  a  cloud  of  dust  rises  from  a  point 
about  a  hundred  yards  this  side  of  him,  and  a  little 
to  the  left,  showing  that  you  have  underestimated 
both  the  distance  and  the  force  of  the  wind — things 
that  even  an  old  hunter  is  liable  to  do  occasionally. 

We  both  lie  close,  and  the  anima's  have  not  yet 
seen  us.  They  make  a  few  jumps,  and  stoj)  all  in  a 
bunch.  The  cross-wind  and  long  distance  x^revent 
them  from  knowing  to  a  certainty  where  the  report 
comes  from,  and  they  don't  like  to  run  just  yet,  lest 
they  may  run  toward  tlie  danger  instead  of  away 
from  it.  You  make  another  half-point  of  elevation, 
hold  a  little  farther  away  to  the  right,  and  try  them 
again.  This  time  the  dirt  rises  about  twenty  feet 
beyond  them,  and  they  jump  in  every  direction. 
That  was  certainly  a  close  call,  and  the  bullet  evi- 


198  CKUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

dently  whistled  uncomfortably  close  to  several  of 
them.  They  are  now  thoroughly  frightened.  You 
insert  another  cartridge,  hurriedly  draw  a  bead  on 
the  largest  buck  again,  and  fire.  You  break  dirt 
just  beyond  him,  and  we  can't  tell  for  the  life  of  us 
how  or  on  which  side  of  Lim  your  bullet  passed.  It 
is  astonishing  how  much  vacant  space  there  is  round 
an  antelope,  anyway.  This  time  they  go,  sure. 
They  have  located  the  puff  of  smoke,  and  are  gone 
with  the  speed  of  the  wind  away  to  the  west.  But 
don't  be  discouraged,  my  friend.  You  did  some 
clever  shooting,  some  very  clever  shooting,  and  a 
little  practice  of  that  kind  will  enable  you  to  score 
before  night. 

We  go  back  to  our  l^orses,  mount,  and  gallop 
away  again  across  the  table-land.  A  ride  of  another 
mile  brings  us  to  the  northern  margin  of  this  plateau, 
and  to  a  more  broken  country.  Here  we  dismount  and 
picket  our  horses  again.  We  ascend  a  high  butte, 
and  from  the  top  of  it  we  can  see  three  more  antelope 
about  a  mile  to  the  north  of  us;  but  this  time  they 
are  in  a  hilly,  broken  country,  and  the  wind  is  com- 
ing directly  from  them  to  us.  We  shall  be  able  to 
get  a  shot  at  them  at  short  range.  So  we  cautiously 
back  down  out  of  sight,  and  then  begins  the  tedious 
process  of-  stalking  them.  We  walk  briskly  along 
around  the  foot  of  a  hill  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  to 
where  it  makes  a  turn  that  would  carry  us  too  far 
out  of  our  course.  We  must  cross  this  hill,  and 
after  looking  carefully  at  the  shape  and  location  of 
it,  we  at  last  lind  a  low  point  in  it  where  by  lying 
flat  down  we  can  crawl  over  it  without  revealing  our- 
selves to  the  game.     It  is  a  most  tedious  and  painful 


AXD   OTHER  HUNTi:N'a   ADVENTURES. 


199 


piece  of  work,  for  the  ground  is  almost  covered  with 
cactus  and  sharp  liinty  rocks,  and  our  hands  and 
knees  are  terribly  lacerated.  But  every  rose  has  its 
thorn,  and  nearly  every  kind  of  sport  has  something 
unpleasant  connec^ted  with  it  occasionally;  and  our 


r^ 


A  PORTRAIT. 


reward,  if  we  get  it,  will  be  worth  the  pain  it  costs 
us.  With  such  reflections  and  comments,  and  with 
frequent  longing  looks  at  the  game,  we  kill  time  till 
at  last  the  critical  part  of  our  work  is  done,  and  we 


200  CKUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

can  arise  and  descend  in  a  comfortable  but  cautiou? 
walk  into  another  draw. 

This  we  follow  for  about  two  hundred  yards,  until 
we  think  we  are  as  near  our  quarry  as  we  can 
get.  We  turn  to  the  right,  cautiously  ascend  the 
hill,  remove  our  hats,  and  peer  over,  and  there,  sure 
enough,  are  our  antelope  quietly  grazing,  utterly 
oblivious  to  the  danger  that  threatens  them.  They 
have  not  seen,  heard,  or  scented  us,  so  we  have 
ami^le  time  to  plan  an  attack.  You  take  the  stand- 
ing shot  at  the  buck,  and  together  we  will  try  and 
take  care  of  the  two  does  afterward.  At  this  short 
distance  you  don't  care  for  the  peep  and  globe  sights, 
and  wisely  decide  to  use  the  plain  open  ones.  This 
time  you  simply  kneel,  and  then  edge  up  until  you 
can  get  a  good  clear  aim  over  the  apex  of  the  ridge 
in  this  position.  The  buck  stands  broadside  to 
you,  and  at  the  crack  of  your  rifle  springs  into 
the  air,  and  falls  all  in  a  heap,  pierced  through  the 
heart. 

And  now  for  the  two  does.  They  are  flying  over 
the  level  stretch  of  prairie  with  the  speed  of  an  arrow, 
and  are  almost  out  of  sure  range  now.  You  turn 
loose  on  that  one  on  the  right,  and  I  will  look  after 
the  one  on  the  left.  Our  riHes  crack  together,  and 
little  clouds  of  dust  rising  just  beyond  tell  us  that, 
though  we  have  both  missed,  we  have  made  close 
calls.  I  put  in  about  three  shots  to  your  one,  owing 
to  my  rifle  being  a -repeater,  while  you  must  load 
yours  at  each  shot.  At  my  fourth  shot  my  left- 
fielder  doubles  up  and  goes  down  with  a  broken 
neck;  and  although  you  have  fairly  "  set  the  ground 
afire  "  —  to  use  a  Western  phrase  —  around  your 


AXD   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  201 

right-fielder,  you  have  not  had  the  good  fortune 
to  stop  her,  and  she  is  now  out  of  sight  behind  a 
low  ridge. 

But  you  have  the  better  animal  of  the  two,  and 
have  had  sport  enough  for  the  first  morning.  We 
will  take  the  entrails  out  of  these  two,  lash  them 
across  our  horses  behind  our  saddles,  go  to  camp, 
and  rest  through  the  heat  of  the  day;  for  this  Sep- 
tember sun  beams  down  with  great  power  in  mid- 
day, even  though  the  nights  are  cool  and  frosty. 

And  now,  as  we  have  quite  a  long  ride  to  camp, 
and  as  we  are  to  pass  over  a  rather  monotonous 
prairie  country  en  route,  I  will  give  you  a  point  or 
two  on  flagging  antelope,  as  we  ride  along,  that  may 
be  useful  to  you  at  some  time.  Fine  sport  may 
frequently  be  enjoyed  in  this  way.  If  you  can  find 
a  band  that  have  not  been  hunted  much,  and  are  not 
familiar  with  the  wiles  of  the  white  man,  you  will  have 
little  trouble  in  decoying  them  within  rifle  range 
by  displaying  to  them  almost  any  brightly-colored 
object.  They  have  as  much  curiosity  as  a  woman, 
and  will  run  into  all  kinds  of  danger  to  investigate 
any  strange  object  they  may  discover.  They  have 
been  known  to  follow  an  emigrant  or  freight  wagon, 
with  a  white  cover,  several  miles,  and  the  Indian  often 
brings  them  within  reach  of  his  arrow  or  bullet 
by  standing  in  plain  vleAV  wrapped  in  his  red  blanket. 
A  x)iece  of  bright  tin  or  a  mirror  answers  the  same 
purpose  on  a  clear  day.  Almost  any  conspicious  or 
strange -looking  object  wall  attract  them;  but  ihe 
most  convenient  as  well  as  the  most  reliable  at  all 
times  is  a  little  bright-red  flag. 

On  one  occasion  I  was  hunting  in  the  Snowy  Mount- 


202  CRUISIJ^GS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

ains,  in  Northern  Montana,  with  S.  K.  Fishel,  the 
government  scout,  and  Richard  Thomas,  the  packer, 
from  Fort  Mag innis.  We  had  not  been  successful  in 
finding  game  there,  and  on  our  way  back  to  the  post 
camped  two  days  on  the  head  of  Flat  Willow  creek, 
near  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  to  hunt  antelopes. 
As  night  approached  several  small  bands  of  them 
came  toward  the  creek,  but  none  came  within  range 
of  oar  camp  during  daylight,  and  we  did  not  go 
after  them  that  night,  but  were  up  and  at  them 
betimes  the  next  morning. 

I  preferred  to  hunt  alone,  as  I  always  do  when 
after  big  game,  and  went  out  across  a  level  flat  to 
some  low  hills  north  of  camp.  When  I  ascended 
the  first  of  these  I  saw  a  handsome  buck  antelope 
on  the  prairie  half  a  mile  away.  I  made  a  long 
detour  to  get  to  leeward  of  him,  and  meantime  had 
great  difficulty  in  keeping  him  from  seeing  me.  But 
by  careful  maneuvering  I  finally  got  into  a  draw 
below  him,  and  found  the  wind  blowing  directly 
from  him  to  me.  In  his  neighborhood  were  some 
large,  ragged  volcanic  rocks,  and  getting  in  line 
with  one  of  these  I  started  to  stalk  him.  He  was 
feeding,  and  as  I  moved  cautiously  forward  I  could 
frequently  see  his  nose  or  rump  show  up  at  one  side 
or  the  other  of  the  rock.  I  would  accordingly  glide 
to  right  or  left,  as  necessary,  and  move  on.  Finally, 
I  succeeded  in  reaching  the  rock,  crawled  carefully 
up  to  where  I  could  see  over  it,  and  there,  sure 
enough,  stood  the  handsome  old  fellow  not  more 
than  fifty  yards  away,  still  complacently  nipping 
the  bunch-grass. 

"Ah,  my  fine  laddie,"  I  said  to  myself,    ''  you'll 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  203 

never  know  what  hurt  you;"  and  resting  the  muzzle 
of  the  rifle  on  the  rock,  I  took  a  fine,  steady  aim  for 
his  heart  and  turned  the  bullet  loose.  There  was  a 
terrific  roar;  the  lead  tore  up  a  cloud  of  dust  and 
went  screaming  away  over  the  hills,  while,  to  my 
utter  astonishment,  the  antelope  went  sailing  across 
the  prairie  with  the  speed  of  a  greyhound.  I  sprang 
to  my  feet,  pumped  lead  after  him  at  a  lively  rate, 
and,  though  I  tore  the  ground  up  all  around  him, 
never  touched  a  hair.  And  what  annoyed  me  most 
was  that,  owing  to  some  peculiar  condition  of  the 
atmosphere,  the  smoke  of  each  shot  hung  in  front  of 
me  long  enough  to  prevent  me  from  seeing  just 
where  my  bullets  struck,  and,  for  the  life  of  me,  I 
could  not  tell  whether  I  was  shooting  over  or  under 
the  game! 

I  went  back  over  the  hill  to  my  horse,  with  my 
heart  full  of  disappointment  and  my  magazine  only 
half  full  of  cartridges.  I  loaded  up,  however, 
mounted,  and,  as  I  rode  away  in  search  of  more 
game,  I  could  occasionally  hear  the  almost  whis- 
pered "pulf,  puff"  of  Fisher s  and  Thomas's  rifles 
away  to  the  south  and  west,  which  brought  me  the 
cheering  assurance  that  they  were  also  having  fun, 
and  also  assured  me  that  we  should  not  be  without 
meat  for  supper  and  breakfast. 

I  soon  sighted  a  band  of  about  thirty  antelopes, 
and  riding  into  a  coulee  dismounted,  picketed  my 
horse,  and  began  another  crawl.  In  due  time  I 
reached  the  desired  ''stand,"  within  about  eighty 
yards  of  them,  and,  picking  out  the  finest  buck  in 
the  bunch,  again  took  a  careful,  deliberate  aim  and 
fired,     scoring    another    clear    miss.      The    band, 


204  CEUISIKGS   IlN    THE   CASCADES 

intsead  of  running  away,  turned  and  ran  directly 
toward  me,  and,  circling-  slightly,  passed  witliin 
thirty  yards  of  me,  drawn  out  in  single  file.  It  was 
a  golden  opportunity  and  I  felc  sure  I  should  kill 
half  a  dozen  of  them  at  least;  but,  alas!  for  fleeting 
hopes.  I  knew  not  the  frailty  of  the  support  on 
which  I  built  my  expectations.  I  fanned  them  as  long 
as  there  was  a  cartridge  in  my  magazine,  and  had 
to  endure  the  intense  chagrin  of  seeing  the  last  one 
of  them  go  over  a  ridge  a  mile  away  safe  and 
sound. 

I  was  dumb.  If  there  had  been  anyone  there  to 
talk  to,  I  don't  think  I  could  have  found  a  word  in 
the  language  to  express  my  feelings.  As  before,  the 
smoke  prevented  me  from  seeing  Just  where  my  bul- 
lets struck  the  ground,  but  I  felt  sure  they  must  be 
striking  very  close  to  the  game.  I  sat  dow^n,  pon- 
dered, and  examined  my  rifle.  I  could  see  nothing 
wrong  with  it,  and  felt  sure  it  must  be  perfect,  for 
within  the  past  w^eek  I  had  killed  a  deer  with  it  at 
170  yards  and  had  shaved  the  heads  off  a  dozen 
^grouse  at  short  range.  I  was,  therefore,  forced  to 
the  conclusion  that  I  had  merely  failed  to  exercise 
proper  care  in  holding.  I  returned  to  my  horse, 
mounted,  and  once  more  set  out  in  search  of  game, 
determined  to  kill  the  next  animal  I  shot  at  or 
leave  the  country. 

I  rode  away  to  the  west  about  two  miles,  and 
from  the  tojD  of  a  high  hill  saw  another  band  of  forty 
or  fifty  antelopes  on  a  table-land.  I  rode  around 
till  I  got  within  about  two  hundred  yards  of  them, 
when  I  left  my  horse  under  cover  of  a  hill  and  again 
began  to  sneak  on  the  unsuspecting  little  creatures. 


AND    OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  205 

They  were  near  the  edge  of  the  table,  and  from  just 
beyond  them  the  formation  fell  abruptly  away  into 
the  valley  some  fifty  feet.  I  crawle<J  uj)  this  bluff 
until  within  about  forty  yards  of  the  nearest  ante- 
lope, and  then,  lying  flat  upon  the  ground,  I  placed 
my  rifle  in  position  for  firing,  and,  inch  by  inch, 
edged  up  over  the  apex  of  the  bluff  until  within 
fair  view  of  the  game.  Again  selecting  the  best 
buck — for  I  wanted  a  good  head  for  mounting — I 
drew  down  on  his  brown  side  until  I  felt  sure  that 
if  there  had  been  a  silver  dollar  hung  on  it  I  could 
have  driven  it  through  him.  Confidently  expecting 
to  see  him  drop  in  his  tracks,  I  touched  the  triggei*. 
But,  alas  !  I  was  doomed  to  still  further  disgrace. 
When  the  smoke  lifted,  my  coveted  prize  was  speed- 
ing away  with  the  rest  of  the  herd. 

I  simply  stood,  with  my  lower  jaw  hanging  down, 
and  looked  after  them  till  they  were  out  of  sight. 
Then  I  went  and  got  my  horse  and  went  to  camp. 
Sam  and  Dick  were  there  with  the  saddles  of  three 
anteloi)es.  When  I  told  them  what  I  had  been 
doing,  they  tried  to  console  me,  but  I  wouldn't  be^ 
consoled.  After  dinner,  Sam  picked  up  my  rifle 
and  looked  it  over  carefully. 

"  Why,  look  here,  you  blooming  idiot,"  said  he. 
''No  wonder  you  couldn't  kill  at  short  range.  The 
wedge  has  slipped  up  under  your  rear  sight  two 
notches.  She's  elevated  for  350  yards,  and  at  that 
rate  would  shoot  about  a  foot  high  at  a  hundred 
yards."  I  looked  and  found  it  even  so.  Then  I 
offered  him  and  Dick  a  dollar  each  if  they  would 
kick  me,  but  they  wouldn't. 

Sam  said  good-naturedly:    "Come,  go   with  me 


206  CRUISINGS   liS-  THE  CASCADES 

and  get  the  head  of  the  buck  I  killed.  It's  a  very 
handsome  one,  and  only  two  miles  from  camp." 

I  said  I  didn't  want  any  heads  for  my  own  use 
unless  I  could  kill  their  owners  myself,  but  would 
take  this  one  home  for  a  friend,  so  we  saddled  our 
horses  and  started . 

As  we  reached  the  top  of  a  hill  about  a  mile  from 
camp  a  large  buck  that  was  grazing  ahead  of  us 
jumped  and  ran  away  to  what  he  seemed  to  consider 
a  safe  distance,  and  stopped  to  look  at  us.  Sam 
generously  offered  me  the  shot,  and  springing  out 
of  my  saddle  I  threw  down  my  rifle,  took  careful 
aim  and  fired.  At  the  crack  the  buck  turned  just 
half  way  round,  but  was  unable  to  make  a  single 
jump  and  sank  dead  in  his  tracks. 

Sam  is  ordinarily  a  quiet  man,  but  he  fairly 
shouted  at  the  result  of  my  shot.  I  paced  the  dis- 
tance carefully  to  where  the  carcass  lay,  and  it  was 
exactly  290  steps.  The  buck  was  standing  broadside 
to  me  and  I  had  shot  him  through  the  heart.  Of 
course,  it  was  a  scratch.  I  could  not  do  it  again  per- 
haps in  twenty  shots,  and  yet  when  I  considered  that 
I  shot  for  one  single  animal  and  got  him  I  could  not 
help  feeling  a  little  proud  of  it.  As  we  approached 
the  animal,  not  knowing  just  where  I  had  hit  him, 
I  held  my  rifle  in  readiness,  but  Sam  said: 

''Oh,  you  needn't  be  afraid  of  his  getting  up. 
One  of  those  Winchester  express  bullets  is  all  an 
antelope  needs,  no  matter  what  part  of  the  body  you 
hit  him  in." 

This  old  fellow  had  a  fine  head,  and  we  took  it 
off,  and  now  as  I  write  it  gazes  down  upon  me  with 
those  large,  lustrous  black  eyes,  from  its  place  on 


A^D   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  207 

the  wall,  as  proudly  and  curiously  as  it  did  there  on 
the  prairie  when  I  looked  at  it  through  the  sights  of 
my  Winchester.  His  portrait  adorns  page  199  of 
this  book,  and  though  the  artist  has  treated  it  with  a 
master's  hand,  it  does  not  possess  the  lordly  beam- 
ing, the  fascinating  grace,  the  timid  beauty  that 
distinguished  the  living  animal. 

It  was  so  late  when  we  got  this  one  dressed  that 
we  decided  to  return  to  camp  at  once. 

The  curiosity  which  is  so  prominent  a  feature  in  the 
antelope' s  nature  costs  many  a  one  of  them  his  life, 
and  is  taken  advantage  of  by  the  hunter  in  various 
ways.  When  we  reached  camp  that  afternoon  Dick 
told  us  how  he  had  taken  advantage  of  it.  He  had 
seen  a  small  band  on  a  level  stretch  of  prairie  where 
there  was  no  x^ossible  way  of  getting  within  range 
of  them,  and  having  heard  that  if  a  man  would  lie 
down  on  his  back,  elevate  his  feet  as  high  as  pos- 
sible, and  swing  them  back  and  forth  through  the 
air,  that  it  would  attract  antelopes,  decided  to  try 
it.  But  the  antelopes  of  this  section  had  evidently 
never  seen  soap  boxes  or  bales  of  hay  floating 
through  the  air,  and  had  no  desire  to  cultivate  a 
closer  acquaintance  with  such  frightful  looking 
objects  as  he  exhibited  to  their  astonished  gaze. 
And  Dick  said  that  when  he  turned  to  see  if  they 
had  yet  come  within  shooting  distance  they  were 
about  a  mile  away,  and  judging  from  the  cloud  of 
dust  they  were  leaving  behind  them  seemed  to  be 
running  a  race  to  see  which  could  get  out  of  the 
country  first. 

The  next  morning  Sam  and  I  went  together  and 
Dick  alone  in  another  direction.     During  the  fore- 


208  CRUISINGS   IN   THE   CASCADES 

noon  I  shot  a  buck  through  both  fore  legs,  cutting 
one  off  clean  and  paralyzing  the  other.  Sam  said 
not  to  shoot  him  again  and  he  would  catch  him,  and 
putting  spurs  to  his  horse  was  soon  galloping  along- 
side of  the  quarry.  He  caught  him  by  one  horn  and 
held  him  until  I  came  up.  Tlie  little  fellow  pranced 
wildly  about,  and  bleated  pitifully,  but  a  stroke  of 
the  hunting  knife  across  his  throat  soon  relieved  his 
suffering. 

We  then  got  the  head  from  the  buck  Sam  had 
killed  the  day  before,  and  returned  to  camp  about 
11  o'clock  a.  m. 

In  the  afternoon  we  rode  out  together  again,  and 
had  not  gone  far  when  we  saw  live  of  the  bright  little 
animals  we  were  hunting,  on  a  hill-side.  They  were 
too  far  away  for  anything  like  a  sure  shot,  but  were 
in  such  a  position  that  we  could  get  no  nearer  to 
them.  They  stood  looking  at  us,  and  Sam  told  me 
to  try  them.  I  had  little  hope  of  making  a  hit,  but 
dismounting  took  a  shot  off  hand,  holding  for  the 
shoulder  of  a  good  sized  buck.  When  the  gun 
cracked  there  was  a  circus.  I  had  missed  my  aim 
so  far  as  to  cut  both  his  hind  legs  off  just  below  the 
knee.  The  buck  commenced  bucking.  First  he 
stood  on  his  fore  feet,  got  his  hind  legs  up  in  the  air 
and  shook  the  stumps.  Then  he  tried  to  stand  on 
them  and  paw  the  air  with  his  fore  feet,  but  lost  his 
balance  and  fell  over  backward.  He  got  up,  jumped 
first  to  one  side,  then  to  the  other,  then  forward. 
Meantime  Sam  rode  toward  him,  and  he  tried  to  run. 
In  this  his  motions  were  more  like  those  of  a  rock- 
ing horse  than  of  a  living  animal.  The  race  was  a 
short  one.     Sam  soon  rode  up  to  him,  caught  him 


AJN^D   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  209 

by  a  horn  and  held  him  till  I  came  up  and  cut  the 
little  fellow's  throat.  Then  Sam  said  that  was  a 
very  long  shot,  and  he  would  like  to  know  just  what 
the  distance  was.  He  went  back  to  where  I  stood 
vrlien  I  shot,  stepped  the  distance  to  where  the 
antelope  stood,  and  found  it  to  be  362  paces. 

We  rode  on  a  mile  further  and  saw  a  young  ante- 
lope lying  down  in  some  tall  rye-grass.  We  could 
just  see  his  horns  and  ears,  and  though  he  ax)peared 
to  be  looking  at  us  he  seemed  to  think  himself 
securely  hidden,  for  he  made  no  movement  toward 
getting  up.  I  told  Sam  to  shoot  this  time,  but  he 
said,  "No,  you  shoot.  I  live  in  this  country  and 
can  get  all  the  shooting  I  want  any  time.  You  have 
come  a  long  way  out  here  to  have  some  fun.  Turn 
loose  on  him."  And  slipping  oif  my  horse  I  knelt 
down  to  get  a  knee  rest,  but  found  that  from  that 
position  I  could  not  see  the  game  at  all,  and  was 
compelled  to  shoot  off  hand  again.  Raising  up  I 
drew  a  bead  on  one  of  the  horns,  and  then  lowering 
the  muzzle  to  where  I  thought  the  body  should  be, 
pressed  the  trigger.  There  was  a  lively  commotion 
in  the  grass,  but  the  buck  never  got  out  of  his  bed. 
The  ball  went  in  at  one  shoulder  and  out  at  the 
opposite  hij).  On  stepping  the  distance  we  found  it 
to  be  only  125  yards. 

And  now,  having  in  a  measure  wiped  out  the  dis- 
grace of  the  previous  day' s  work  and  secured  all  the 
meat,  skins,  and  heads  that  our  pack-mules  could 
carry,  we  returned  to  camp  and  the  next  day  went 
back  to  Fort  Maginnis. 

These  bright  little  creatures,  though  naturally 
timid,  sometimes  show  great  courage  in  defense  of 

14 


210  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

their  young.  I  once  saw  a  coyote  sneak  from  behind 
a  hill  toward  a  herd  of  antelope.  Instantly  there  waa 
a  grand  rush  of  all  the  adult  members  of  the  band, 
male  and  female,  toward  the  intruder,  and  when 
they  had  gotten  in  front  of  the  kids  they  stopped, 
with  bristles  erect,  ears  thrown  forward,  and  heads, 
lowered,  presenting  a  most  warlike  and  belligerent 
appearance.  The  coyote,  when  he  saw  himself  con- 
fronted with  this  solid  phalanx,  suddenly  stopped, 
eyed  his  opponents  for  a  few  moments,  and  then, 
apparently  overawed  at  the  superiority  of  numbers 
and  warlike  attitude  of  his  intended  prey,  slunk 
reluctantly  away  in  search  of  some  weaker  victim. 
When  he  was  well  out  of  sight,  the  older  members 
of  the  band  turned  to  their  young,  caressed  them, 
and  resumed  their  grazing. 

The  speed  of  the  antelope  is  probably  not  excelled 
by  that  of  any  other  animal  in  this  country,  wild 
or  domestic,  except  the  greyhound,  and,  in  fact,  it 
is  only  the  finest  and  fleetest  of  these  that  can  pull 
down  an  antelope  in  a  fair  race. 

In  the  little  village  of  Garfield,  Kansas,  there 
lived  a  man  some  years  ago — the  proprietor  of  a 
hotel — who  had  two  pet  antelopes.  The  village 
dogs  had  several  times  chased  them,  but  had  always 
been  distanced.  One  day  a  Mexican  came  to  town 
who  had  with  him  two  large,  handsome  greyhounds. 
Immediately  on  riding  up  to  the  hotel  he  saw  the 
antelopes  in  the  yard,  and  told  the  proprietor  gruflBly 
that  he  had  better  put  "  them  critters  "  in  the  corral, 
or  his  dogs  would  kill  them.  The  proprietor  said 
he  guessed  the  "critters"  were  able  to  take  care 
of  themselves,  especially  if  the  dogs  did  not  spring 


AND   OTIIEU  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  211 

upon  tliem  unawares.  This  aroused  the  Mexican's 
ire,  and  he  promptly  offered  to  wager  a  goodly  sum 
that  his  dogs  would  pull  down  one  or  both  of 
the  antelopes  within  a  mile.  The  challenge  was 
accepted,  the  stakes  deposited,  the  antelopes  turned 
into  the  street,  and  the  "greaser"  told  his  dogs 
to  "take  'em." 

The  dogs  sprang  at  the  antelopes,  but  the  latter 
had  by  this  time  reached  a  vacant  lot  across  the 
street.  They  started  off  down  the  river.  For  a 
distance  of  four  miles  the  river  bottom  was  an  open 
prairie,  and  as  level  as  a  floor.  As  the  quartette 
sped  over  this  grand  natural  race-course,  the  whole 
populace  of  the  town  turned  out  en  masse  to  see  the 
race.  Men  and  boys  shouted,  and  ladies  waved 
their  handkerchiefs.  Betting  was  rife,  the  natives 
offering  two  to  one  on  the  antelopes,  the  Mexican 
and  the  few  other  strangers  in  town  being  eager 
takers.  It  was  nip  and  tuck,  neither  animals  gain- 
ing nor  losing  perceptibly,  and  when  at  last  the  four 
went  round  a  bend  in  the  river  four  miles  away,  and 
were  hidden  by  a  bluff,  the  game  was,  as  nearly  as 
could  be  seen  by  the  aid  of  good  field-glasses,  just 
about  the  same  distance  ahead  of  the  dogs  as  when 
they  left  town. 

Some  hours  later  the  dogs  returned,  so  tired  they 
could  scarcely  walk.  The  Mexican  eagerly  looked 
for  hair  on  their  teeth,  and  although  he  could  find 
none,  was  confident  that  his  dogs  had  killed  the 
antelopes.  A  mounted  expedition  to  search  for  the 
carcasses  and  settle  the  question  was  agreed  upon, 
but  as  it  was  too  near  night  to  start  when  the  dogs 
returned,  it  was  arranged  to  go  in  the  morning.    But 


212  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES. 

when  the  parties  got  up  the  next  morning  they  found 
the  antelopes  quietly  grazing  in  the  hotel  yard. 
The  Mexican  left  town  in  disgust  followed  by  his 
lame,  sore-footed  dogs,  and  muttering  that  he 
''never  seed  no  varmints  run  like  them  things  did." 

The  antelope,  one  of  the  brightest  and  most  grace- 
ful and  beautiful  of  all  our  Western  game  animals, 
is  fast  disappearing  from  our  broad  plains,  owing  to 
the  ceaseless  slaughter  of  it  that  is  carried  on  by 
''skin  hunters,"  Indians,  "foreign  noblemen,"  and 
others  who  come  to  this  country  year  after  year  and 
spend  the  entire  summer  in  hunting.  Hundreds 
of  them  are  killed  every  summer  by  this  latter  class, 
and  left  to  rot  where  they  fall,  not  a  pound  of  meat, 
a  skin,  or  even  a  head  being  taken  from  them.  I 
have  seen  with  my  own  eyes  this  butchery  carried 
on  for  years  past,  and  know  whereof  I  speak. 

Nearly  all  the  Territories  have  stringent  laws 
intended  to  prohibit  this  class  of  slaughter,  but  in 
these  sparsely  settled  countries  the  provisions  for 
enforcing  them  are  so  meagre  that  these  men  violate 
them  day  after  day  and  year  after  year  with  impu- 
nity. This  is  one  of  the  instances  in  which  prohi- 
bition does  not  prohibit.  And  what  I  have  said  of 
the  antelope  is  true  of  all  the  large  game  of  the 
great  West.  The  elk,  deer,  mountain  sheep,  etc., 
are  being  slaughtered  by  the  hundreds  evrry 
year — tenfold  faster  than  the  natural  increase.  And 
the  time  is  near,  very  near,  when  all  these  noble 
species  will  be  extinct.  The  sportsman  or  natural- 
ist who  desires  to  preserve  a  skin  or  head  of  any 
of  them  must  procure  it  very  soon  or  he  will  not 
be  able  to  get  it  at  all. 


CHAPTEE  XXIY. 

BUFFALO  HUNTING  ON   THE  TEXAS  PLAINS. 

)HE  "Texas  boom"  was  at  its 
height  in  1876,  and  there  was 
a  grand  rush  of  emigrants  of 
all  nationalities  and  conditions 
of  people  to  the  then  New  Eldo- 
rado. Thousands  of  men  went 
down  there  to  make  money.  Many 
of  them  had  not  the  remotest  idea 
how  this  was  to  be  done,  but  from 
the  glowing  stories  afloat  regarding 
the  resources  of  that  wonderful  coun- 
try, they  felt  sure  it  could  be  done  in 
some  way.  The  little  town  of  Fort  Worth  was  then 
on  the  frontier — that  is,  it  was  one  of  the  most 
westerly  towns  having  railroad  communication,  and 
was  therefore  one  of  the  important  outfitting  j)oints 
for  parties  going  into  the  wilds.  A  great  many 
were  going  further  west,  on  all  kinds  of  expeditions, 
some  in  search  of  minerals,  some  in  search  of  choice 
lands,  some  to  hunt  the  large  game  which  was  then 
abundant. 

The  village  consisted  of  a  public  square,  around 
and  fronting  on  which  were  a  row  of  cheap,  one- 
story,  log  and  frame  buildings,  most  of  which  were 
occupied  as  saloons  and  gambling  houses.      But 

(213) 


(214) 


AND    OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  215 

there  were  a  few  respectable  general  stores,  half  a 
dozen  so-called  hotels,  shops,  etc.  The  town  was 
full  to  overflowing^*  with  gamblers,  rustlers,  hunters, 
cowboys,  Mexican  rancheros,  northern  sight- seers, 
adventurers,  commercial  travelers,  etc. 

All  day  and  all  night  could  be  heard  the  call  of 
the  croupier  at  the  gambling-table  as  he  announced 
the  numbers  and  combinations  that  the  wheel  or 
cards  produced  in  the  course  of  the  manipulations 
to  which  his  deft  fingers  subjected  them. 

Hot  words  often  came  from  fortunate  and  unfortu- 
nate gamesters,  and  the  short,  sharp  report  of  the  six- 
shooter,  the  sliouts  of  combatants,  the  groans  of 
wounded  or  dying  men,  the  clatter  of  heavy  boots 
or  sj)urs  on  the  feet  of  stampeded  spectators  were 
sounds  that,  nearly  every  night,  greeted  the  ears 
of  the  po|)ulace. 

Mob  law  reigned  supreme,  and  there  was  little 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  village  authorities  to  punish 
offenders.  Sometimes  Judge  Lynch' s  court  was 
convened  on  short  notice,  and  someone  who  had 
committed  an  unusually  flagrant  violation  of  the 
'4aw  of  honor"  and  had  killed  a  man  without  due 
provocation,  was  hurriedly  tried  and  strung  ux)  to 
the  nearest  tree. 

One  evening  in  the  month  of  November,  the  excite- 
ment was  varied  by  the  arrival  of  a  "  bull-train ' '  ^ 
of  ten  wagons  loaded  with  buffalo  skins.  They 
drove  to  the  warehouse  of  the  largest  trader  in  the 


*  What  is  known  on  the  frontier  as  a  "  bull-train  "  is  a  number  of 
ponderous  wagons,  diawn  by  from  six  to  ten  yoke  of  oxen  each, 
used  for  hauling  heavy  freight  across  the  plains. 


216  CRUISINGS   IN   THE   CASCADES 

place  to  unload,  and  were  quickly  surrounded  by  a. 
crowd  of  eager  inquirers  wlio  sought  for  news  from 
the  front. 

Some  inquired  as  to  the  nature  of  the  country, 
some  as  to  the  progress  of  settlements,  some  as  to- 
friends  who  were  at  the  front,  and  many  as  to  the 
buffalo  herd  from  which  the  five  thousand  skins 
brought  in  by  this  train  had  been  taken. 

"The  main  herd,"  said  the  wagon  boss,  "is  two 
hundred  miles  west  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Brazoa 
river. " 

"How  large  a  herd  is  it?" 

"Nobody  knows  that,  for  none  of  'em  has  took 
time  to  ride  to  the  west  end  of  it." 

"Are  there  many  hunters  there?"  inquired  a 
young  St.  Louis  lawyer. 

"Wair,  you'd  reckon,"  said  the  boss.  "Tha's 
'bout  a  hundred  and  fifty  white  hunters,  and  more'n 
a  thousand  red-skins.' ' 

"  When  do  you  start  back?" 

"To-morrow  mornin',  if  I  can  keep  my  bull 
punchers  from  gettin'  full  of  pizen." 

The  crowd  gradually  scattered,  while  a  little  knot 
of  the  more  respectable  element  repaired  to  the  hotel 
to  discuss  the  question  of  organizing  a  hunting 
party  to  go  to  the  buffalo  range.  In  an  hour  they 
agreed  to  go,  the  time  for  the  start  being  fixed  for 
the  morning  of  the  second  day  following. 

And  then  the  busy  notes  of  preparation  were 
heard  throughout  the  town.  But  few  of  the  men 
who  decided  to  go  were  prepared  for  such  a  trip, 
and  it  was  necessary  for  most  of  them  to  buy  or  hire 
complete  outfits.     Horses  were  the  first  and  most 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  217 

important  requisite.  The  corral  (the  frontier  livery 
stable)  was  first  visited,  and  spirited  bidding  was 
indulged  in  for  the  choicest  animals.  The  stock 
here  was  soon  exhausted,  and  the  demand  was  not 
yet  supplied.  Then  all  the  horses  and  ponies  stand- 
ing tied  to  the  railing  around  the  public  square 
were  inspected,  and  any  that  were  for  sale  were 
tested.  AVord  having  been  circulated  that  a  hunting 
party  was  outfitting,  a  large  number  of  ponies  were 
brought  in  from  neighboring  camps  and  ranches. 
The  party  was  soon  creditably  mounted,  though  the 
number  had  increased  to  double  that  originally 
planned. 

Next,  teams  must  be  employed.  A  number  of 
these  were  also  found,  and  five  were  engaged,  their 
owners  agreeing  to  work  for  seven  dollars  a  day 
''and  found." 

Guns  and  ammunition  were  also  in  demand,  and 
enough  were  offered  to  arm  a  regiment.  A  number 
of  hunters  had  recently  come  in  from  the  front  and 
were  selling  off  their  outfits.  Every  store  and  hotel 
had  from  one  to  half  a  dozen  guns  in  pawn,  and  one 
dealer  had  a  number  of  new  ones.  Anything  in  the 
shape  of  a  rifie  could  be  had.  Old  Kentucky  muzzle- 
loaders,  "^ve  feet  long  in  the  barrel;"  condemned 
army  carbines  of  Spencer,  Sharps,  and  other  pat- 
terns; Springfield  muskets;  Henry  and  Winchester 
rifies;  and  a  few  of  the  old  reliable  Sharps  "buffalo 
guns"  of  45  and  50  calibre,  and  using  100  to  120 
grains  of  powder.  These  latter  were  taken  at  good 
figures  by  the  more  knowing  ones,  and  the  best  of 
the  others  selected  by  the  less  intelligent  buyers 
until  all  were  fairly  well  armed. 


1218  CRUISINGS   IX   THE   CASCADES 

Then  a  guide  was  needed,  and  a  Chicago  news- 
paper correspondent,  who  was  to  be  a  member  of 
the  expedition,  was  deputed  to  employ  one.  As 
usual  in  frontier  towns,  there  were  plenty  of  them, 
each  one  of  whom,  in  his  own  estimation,  was  the  best 
in  the  whole  country.  Each  claimed  to  know  every 
foot  of  the  ground  in  question,  to  be  able  to  speak 
the  language  of  every  Indian  tribe  on  the  frontier, 
to  be  a  crack  shot  and  intrepid  horseman,  afraid  of 
nothing,  and  ready  for  any  undertaking,  no  matter 
how  hazardous. 

Inquiry  among  the  more  reliable  citizens  of  the 
town  as  to  who  was  best  suited  for  the  uses  of  the 
present  enterprise  resulted  in  the  choice  of  a  rather 
quiet  and  attractive-looking  young  man  bearing  the 
euphonious  pseudonym  of  ' '  Red  River  Frank. ' '  He 
was  clad  in  the  conventional  buckskin  suit,  and  his 
long  glossy  black  hair  hung  in  heavy  curls  down  to 
his  shoulders.  He  was  six  feet  two  inches  in  height, 
straight  as  an  arrow,  and  had  a  deep,  clear  gray  eye; 
rode  a  good  sized  si3irited  mustang,  and  sat  in  his 
saddle  like  a  life-trained  trooper. 

At  the  time  appointed  for  the  departure,  the 
party,  which  had  now  swelled  to  thirty-two  men  all 
told,  assembled  in  the  i^ublic  square.  The  wagons 
were  loaded  with  the  tents,  bedding,  food,  and  other 
necessary  provisions  for  the  trip,  which,  it  Avas 
arranged,  should  occupy  about  six  weeks.  At  ten 
o'clock  the  party  rode  out  of  town  on  the  road 
leading  west,  taking  with  them  the  hearty  good 
wishes  of  the  assembled  throng.  They  crossed  a 
narrow  belt  of  timber  and  emerged  upon  a  stretch  of 
gently  undiilating  i^rairie,  which  was  densely  cov- 


AJS^D   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  219 

ered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  gramma  grass,  and 
over  which  they  traveled  at  a  lively  gait  until  after 
sundown  before  again  reaching  timber  and  water. 
Then  they  camped  on  a  small  creek  where  food, 
fuel,  and  good  water  were  abundant.  The  tents 
were  pitched,  supper  prepared  and  eaten,  and  then 
the  party  assembled  around  a  large  camp  fire. 

The  lawyer  arose,  and  requesting  the  attention  of 
the  men,  said  that,  as  they  were  going  on  a  long 
journey  into  a  wild  country,  which  was  infested 
with  hostile  Indians  and  lawless  white  men,  where 
it  might  be  necessary  for  this  party  to  defend  them- 
selves and  their  property  by  force  of  arms,  it  was 
thought  best  to  effect  a  permanent  and  binding 
organization,  which  would  insure  unity  of  action 
throughout  the  trip,  and  especially  in  the  event  of 
any  such  trouble  as  he  had  intimated  might  arise. 
He  therefore  nominated  as  chief  executive  officer 
of  the  expedition.  Captain  W.  H.  Enders,  who,  he 
said,  had  done  good  and  faithful  service  during  the 
late  war;  who,  since  the  war,  had  traveled  exten- 
sively in  the  West,  and  who  was  now  engaged  in 
€attle  raising  in  Kansas.  Several  men  seconded  the 
nomination,  and  Captain  Enders  was  unanimously 
chosen  by  acclamation. 

He  arose  and  thanked  his  friends,  modestly  and 
gracefully,  for  this  mark  of  their  esteem  and  confi- 
dence, stating  that  he  had  no  desire  to  exercise  any 
arbitrary  or  unnecessary  authority  over  them,  but 
should  only  order  them  in  so  far  as  safety  and 
success  in  their  undertaking  seemed  necessary.  He 
asked  that  all  who  w^re  willing  to  stand  by  him  and 
obey  his   orders  to  this  extent  should    so    pledge 


220  CRUISINGS   IN   THE   CASCADES 

themselves  by  rising  to  tlieir  feet.  The  entire  party 
arose.  Then  their  leader  thanked  them  again,  and 
their  informal  deliberation  ended. 

The  captain  detailed  four  men  to  act  as  a  guard 
over  the  camp  and  stock  during  the  night,  each 
watching  two  hours  and  then  calling  up  the  one 
who  was  to  relieve  him,  and  this  precaution  was 
followed  up  throughout  the  expedition. 

The  men  were  tired  from  their  long  ride,  and 
sought  the  comfort  of  their  blankets  at  an  early- 
hour.  As  they  had  a  ten  days'  journey  before  them 
to  reach  the  buffalo  range,  it  was  agreed  that  they 
should  start  early  each  morning,  and  the  camp 
fires  were  therefore  ordered  to  be  lit  at  four  o'clock. 

The  journey  was  uneventful  for  several  days. 
The  road  upon  which  the  party  had  first  traveled 
bearing  off  to  the  southwest,  and  the  course  of  our 
party  being  due  west,  they  left  it.  ''Red  River 
Frank"  now  sustained  his  good  reputation  as  a 
guide  by  selecting  with  excellent  skill  and  judg- 
ment the  best  portion  of  the  country  to  travel  in, 
avoiding  the  numerous  swamps  and  sandy  plains, 
finding  safe  and  easy  fords  across  the  streams,  and 
selecting  good  camj)  sites  for  each  night. 

They  were  now  in  a  country  where  deer  and  tur- 
keys were  abundant,  and  their  tables  were  bounti- 
fully supplied  with  fresh  meat.  They  camped  on 
the  night  of  November  12  in  a  clump  of  tall  cotton- 
wood  trees  that  skirted  a  small  creek.  Just  at  dusk 
a  great  rusli  of  wings  was  heard  in  the  air,  and, 
looking  in  the  direction  from  whence  the  sound 
came,  a  large  flock  of  wild  turkeys  was  seen  sailing 
directly  toward  their  camp,  and,  a  moment  later, 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTUPwES.  221 

they  lit  in  the  trees  amongst  which  our  party  was 
camped.  Instantly  every  rifle  was  brought  forth, 
and  the  whole  camp  was  ablaze  with  burning  j^owder. 
The  smoke  floated  up  amongst  the  dazed  and  iDanic- 
stricken  birds,  who  fluttered  wildly  and  aimlessly 
from  tree  to  tree,  knocking  their  wings  against  each 
other  and  the  dead  limbs,  and  making  a  most  fright- 
ful noise. 

The  hunters  scattered  and  tongues  of  flame  shot 
up  from  every  quarter.  Volley  after  volley  was 
fired.  The  roar  of  the  rifles  interspersed  with  the 
"thud"  and  "crash"  of  falling  birds,  the  shouts  of 
the  excited  throng,  the  neighing  of  terrified  horses, 
the  barking  of  dogs,  turned  the  quiet  camj)  of  a  few 
moments  ago  into  a  veritable  pandemonium.  The 
slaughter  went  on  for,  perhaps,  twenty  minutes, 
when  the  more  humane  became  ashamed  of  them- 
selves and  quit.  Finally  they  prevailed  upon  their 
friends  to  desist,  and  the  dead  game  was  gathered 
up.  Sixty-three  of  these  noble  birds  had  met  their 
death,  and  the  survivors  were  allowed  to  sit  quietly 
and  watch  the  cam^^  fires  till  morning,  when  they 
sailed  away  toward  the  east. 

In  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  Frank  and  the 
journalist  were  riding  in  advance  of  the  column 
across  a  level,  monotonous  stretch  of  country,  where 
there  was  little  to  attract  attention  or  excite  remark. 
They  had  already  become  warm  friends  and  talked 
confidentially  on  many  subjects,  but  Frank  had 
said  nothing  of  his  past  history,  yet  his  strange 
demeanor  at  times  had  excited  in  the  mind  of 
the  newspaper  man  an  anxiety  to  know  what 
had  moved  this  refined,  generous,  scholarly  young 


222  CRUISINGS   lis   THE   CASCADES 

man  to  adopt  a  life  so  uncivilized  as  the  one  he  was 
living. 

"Frank,"  he  finally  said,  "I  have  no  wish  to 
question  you  on  a  subject  that  you  may  not  wish  to 
speak  on,  yet  I  have  observed  many  traits  in  you 
that  are  not  found  in  other  men  of  your  calling.  I 
am  of  the  opinion  that  you  have  been  bred  in  a  very 
different  sphere  of  life  from  this  in  which  you  now 
live.  If  you  have  no  objection,  I  should  like  to 
know  what  motive  prompted  you  to  adopt  this  wild 
life." 

He  bit  his  lip  and  hesitated.  Finally,  after  some 
moments,  he  said: 

"  Well,  r  11  tell  you  how  it  came  about,  and  I'll 
make  the  story  brief.  It  is  similar  to  that  of  many 
another  scout,  in  general,  but  different  in  detail, 
perhaps,  from  any  of  them.  I  was  born  and  bred  in 
an  Eastern  city,  and  was  being  educated  for  the 
ministry.  My  father  failed  in  business  and  I  was 
compelled  to  leave  school.  He  gathered  what  little 
was  left  of  his  shattered  fortune,  and  with  his  family 
emigrated  to  the  far  West.  There  he  engaged  in 
farming  on  what  was  then  the  frontier,  but  before 
we  had  been  there  six  months  we  were  awkened  one 
morning  at  daylight  by  the  yells  of  savage  Indians, 
and,  looking  out,  beheld  them  all  around  us.  They 
were  Comanches. 

"  Our  house  was  burned.  My  father  was  toma- 
hawked and  scalped  before  our  eyes,  and  my  mother, 
my  sister  (who  was  older  than  I),  and  myself  were 
carried  into  captivity.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to 
escape.  I  returned  and  organized  a  x^ursuing  party, 
but  our  efforts  were  fruitless,  and  a  few  months 


AXD   OTHER  HUJS^TTNG   ADVENTURES.  22e^ 

later  I  learned  from  a  half -breed  that  death  had 
relieved  the  sufferings  of  my  mother  and  sister. 
That  was  twenty  years  ago.  I  was  fifteen  years  old 
then,  and  from  that  day  to  this  I  have  been  on  the 
trail  of  that  tribe.  I  boast  of  nothing,  but  each  year 
I  feel  better  satisfied  with  my  work.  I  hope  that,  in 
time,  I  may  feel  content  to  return  East  and  engage 
in  some  lawful  and  more  congenial  pursuit." 

At  that  instant  a  deer  bounded  up  out  of  the  tall 
grass  a  hundred  yards  ahead  and  went  prancing 
aw^ay  to  the  left.  Frank  caught  his  rifle  from  the 
sling  at  his  saddle  bow  and  sent  a  bullet  through 
its  head. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  hunters  came  upon 
fresh  buffalo  signs,  and  in  the  afternoon  a  few 
stragglers  were  seen.  One  was  killed  in  the  even- 
ing, and  on  the  creek  where  they  camped  that  night 
fresh  Indian  camp  signs  were  found.  A  small  herd 
of  buffalo  came  to  the  creek  to  drink,  a  mile  below, 
just  after  sundown,  and  various  facts  indicated 
that  they  were  near  the  main  herd.  All  through 
the  next  day  they  were  in  sight  of  small  bands,  and 
several  hunting  parties  were  sighted,  some  white 
and  some  red.  The  feed  was  getting  scarce,  owing 
to  its  having  been  eaten  down  by  the  game,  and  at 
two  o'clock  the  party  camped  on  Willow  creek,  a 
small  tributary  of  the  Brazos  river.  The  main  herd 
was  yet  about  ten  miles  away,  but  the  hunters  could 
not  consistently  go  any  nearer  for  a  permanent  camp, 
and  decided  to  make  it  here.  Two  white  hunters 
visited  them  in  the  evening,  and  told  them  that  a 
party  of  ten  Comanches  were  camped  on  Turtle 
creek  seven  miles  further  west.     At  this  intelligence 


(224) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  225 

Prank's  face  darkened  and  his  eye  gleamed,  but  he 
said  nothing.  Soon  after  dark,  however,  he  was 
missing,  and  did  not  turn  up  again  till  near  noon  the 
next  day.  He  had  a  different  horse  from  the  one  he 
rode  away;  not  so  good  a  one,  it  is  true,  and  there 
were  two  bullet  holes  in  his  coat.  He  was  reticent 
and  uncommunicative  as  to  where  he  had  been,  but 
wore  a  very  pleased  expression  on  his  countenance, 
and  Avas  occasionally  seen  to  smile  when  not  talking 
with  anyone. 

The  majority  of  the  hunters  mounted  and  rode 
southwest  early  in  the  morning.  Seven  men  in  one 
party  sighted  a  herd  of  buffaloes  numbering  about 
200,  and  dismounting,  when  within  a  mile,  cached 
their  horses  in  a  coulee,  and  began  a  cautious 
advance. 

They  found  a  deep  and  crooked  ravine  into  which 
they  crawled,  and  in  which  they  were  able  to  ap- 
proach to  within  about  400  yards  of  the  nearest  ani- 
mals. A  gentle  breeze  blew  from  the  game  toward 
the  hunters,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  most  favor- 
able point,  they  crawled  up  the  steep  bank  to  where 
they  could  command  a  good  view  of  the  game.  The 
''tenderfeet"  in  the  party  were  in  favor  of  firing  a 
volley,  but  an  old  hunter  who  had  led  them 
advised  them  to  fire  singly,  and  at  intervals  of  a 
minute  or  two,  this  plan  being  much  less  likely  to 
frighten  the  game.  He  cautioned  them  to  take  very 
careful  aim,  to  make  every  shot  count,  and  to  wound 
as  few  animals  as  possible.  One  slightly  wounded 
animal,  he  said,  would  create  more  uneasiness  among 
the  herd  than  ten  dead  or  fatally  wounded  ones. 

Several  of  this  party  were  good  marksmen,  and 

15 


226  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

had  good  strong-shooting,  long-range  rifles.  Though 
they  shot  heavy  charges,  yet,  the  wind  in  their  favor, 
at  this  long  distance,  the  animals  would  scarcely 
hear  the  reports.  The  leader  advised  them  to  shoot 
only  at  animals  broadside,  and  gave  them  careful 
directions  as  to  elevation  and  where  to  aim.  Evans 
opened  the  fire  with  a  sixteen-pound  50-calibre 
Sharp' s.  Immediately  after  the  report  the  emphatic 
' '  thud ' '  of  the  bullet  came  back  and  a  large  cow  was 
seen  ta  drop  on  her  knees,  get  up  again,  stagger 
away  a  few  rods  and  lie  down. 

''Good,"  said  the  old  hunter.  ''Now,  Pete, 
you  go." 

"Pete  fired,  and  an  old  bull  whisked  his  tail, 
walked  sullenly  away,  turned  around  a  few  times, 
and  fell  dead.  Another  complimentary  remark  from 
the  old  hunter,  and  then  he  said: 

"Now  I  guess  I'll  try  one." 

He  fired,  but  to  his  great  chagrin  did  just  what  he 
had  cautioned  the  others  not  to  do,  broke  a  fore  leg 
below  the  knee.  This  cow  commenced  to  bellow 
and  "buck,"  and  in  an  instant  the  whole  herd  was 
in  commotion. 

"  Stop  her,  somebody,  stop  her,  or  she' 11  stampede 
the  hull  bizness!"  he  said,  as  he  pushed  another 
bullet  into  his  muzzle  loader.  By  this  time  she  had 
stopped  broadside,  for  a  moment,  at  the  edge  of  the 
herd,  and  the  journalist,  at  the  order  of  the  boss,  drew 
a  bead  on  her.  The  ' '  spat ' '  of  the  heavy  bullet  told 
of  a  palpable  hit."  She  no  longer  felt  like  running, 
but  was  not  yet  down  and  it  took  two  more  bullets  to 
lay  her  out.  The  next  shot  was  a  clean  miss,  so  far 
as  it  concerned  the  animal  shot  at,  but  it  wounded 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  227 

one  somewhere  in  the  herd.  Then  there  was  more 
commotion  and  it  was  evident  the  "stand"  was  at 
an  end. 

"  Give  it  to  'em,  everybody,"  the  old  hunter  now 
said,  and  a  fusillade  followed  that  soon  put  them 
under  full  speed. 

The  hunters  now  mounted  their  horses  and  made 
a  "run"  on  the  band  that  resulted  in  some  very 
exciting  sport  and  the  death  of  three  more  buffaloes. 
This  over,  they  returned  to  the  scene  of  the  first 
firing  and  gralloched  the  seven  animals  killed  "on 
the  stand."  Then  they  mounted  their  tired  beasts 
again  and  were  on  the  point  of  starting  for  camp 
when  they  heard  strange  noises,  and  looking  toward 
the  west  beheld  a  great  black  surging  mass,  waving 
and  rolling  up  across  the  prairie,  half  hidden  by 
great  clouds  of  dust  which  were  only  occasionally 
blown  away  by  the  brisk  autumn  wind.  It  was  the 
great  herd  of  buffalo,  and  they  had  been  stampeded 
by  the  Indian  hunters.  The  roar  of  the  hoofs  upon 
the  dry  earth  was  like  the  low  and  sullen  thunder. 
The  vanguard  of  the  herd  was  yet  more  than  a  mile 
away,  but  the  dark  line  stretched  to  right  and  left 
almost  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  our  hunters 
saw  that  instant  and  precipitate  flight  was  necessary 
in  order  to  save  their  lives.  They  specially  chose  the 
northward  as  offering  the  shortest  and  best  direction 
by  which  to  escape  the  coming  avalanche,  and  sinking 
the  spurs  deep  into  their  terror-stricken  beasts,  they 
flew  with  the  velocity  of  an  arrow  across  the  wild 
prairie.  A  mile  was  covered  in  a  few  seconds,  and 
yet  they  were  not  past  the  herd,  which  was  rapidly 
closing  in  upon  them. 


(228) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  229 

They  turned  their  horses'  heads  partly  in  the 
direction  the  buffaloes  were  going  and,  urging  them 
to^their  utmost  speed,  finally  passed  the  outer  line 
of  the  herd  just  as  the  leaders  passed  by.  Then, 
having  reached  a  place  of  safety,  they  dismounted, 
and  throwing  their  bridle  reins  over  their  arms  com- 
menced to  load  and  fire  into  the  herd  with  all  possi- 
ble rapidity,  nearly  every  shot  killing  or  disabling 
an  animal.  It  took  nearly  half  an  hour  for  the  rolling, 
surging,  angry  horde  to  pass  the  point  where  our 
hunters  stood,  and  as  the  rear  guard  came  in  sight 
there  came  a  new  and  still  more  terrible  scene  in  the 
great  tragedy. 

More  than  a  hundred  Indians  were  in  hot  pursuit 
of  the  savage  beasts.  .  They  were  mounted  on  wild 
and  almost  ungovernable  bronchos,  who  were  froth- 
ing at  the  mouth,  charging  and  cavorting  amongst 
the  fleeing  game.  The  white  foam  dropped  in  flakes 
and  bubbles  from  all  parts  of  their  bodies.  Their 
nostrils  were  distended,  their  eyes  flashed  fire,  and 
they  seemed  as  eager  as  their  wild  masters  to 
deal  death  to  the  buffaloes.  The  savage  riders 
seemed  beside  themselves  with  mad,  ungovernable 
passion. 

Their  faces  were  painted  in  the  most  glaring  colors, 
their  bright  and  many -colored  blankets  fluttered  in 
the  wind  secured  to  the  saddle  only  by  an  end  or  a 
corner,  their  long  black  hair  streaming  back  like  the 
pennant  at  the  mast  head  of  a  ship,  and  their  deep 
black  eyes  gleamed  like  coals  of  fire  in  a  dungeon. 
Arrow  after  arrow  flew  from  deep- strung  bows  and 
sunk  to  the  feathered  tip  in  the  quivering  flesh  of 
the  shaggy  monsters. 


230  CRUISING5  IlN    THE  CASCADES 

Ponderous  spears  were  hurled  with  the  power  and 
precision  of  giants  and  struck  down  the  defenceless 
victims  as  a  sturdy  woodman  strikes  down  the  frail 
sapling  in  his  path. 

''Crack!"  "crack!"  came  from  rifles,  and 
"ping!"  "ping!"  from  carbines  and  revolvers. 
Hundreds  of  shots  were  fired  by  those  who  carried 
firearms,  and  before  these  murderous  weapons,  the 
poor  bison  sank  like  ripened  grain  before  the  reap- 
er's blade. 

One  young  warrior,  more  ardent  and  fearless  than 
the  rest,  had  forced  his  high-strung  steed  far  into 
the  midst  of  the  solid  phalanx,  where  the  horse 
was  finally  impaled  upon  the  horns  of  a  monster 
bull.  He  and  his  rider  were  tossed  like  sheaves  of 
wheat  into  the  air;  then  both  sank  to  earth,  and 
were  instantly  trodden  into  the  dust. 

At  last  tlie  great  storm  had  passed,  and  our  friends 
watched  until  it  faded  away  in  the  distance  and 
finally  disappeared  from  their  view. 

Then  came  the  squaws,  the  boys,  and  the  old  men, 
to  dispatch  the  wounded  and  to  skin  and  cut  up  the 
dead.  These  were  strewn  all  over  the  prairie,  and 
not  a  tithe  of  them  were,  or  could  be,  saved  by  all 
the  people,  white  and  red,  assembled  there. 

Our  hunters  returned  to  camp  at  sunset,  where 
they  met  those  of  their  companions  who  had  been 
out  during  the  afternoon,  and  over  the  evening 
camp  fire,  each  related  the  thrilling  incidents  which 
he  had  witnessed,  or  in  which  he  had  participated 
during  the  day. 

On  the  following  morning  they  again  started  out  in 
several  parties  of  five  or  six  each  and  going  in  various 


"^         AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  231 

directions.  Frank  and  the  newspaper  man  started 
with  three  others,  but  soon  separated  from  them  to 
go  after  a  small  band  which  they  had  sighted  about 
two  miles  south  of  camp. 

When  within  a  proper  distance,  they  dismounted, 
picketed  their  horses  in  a  swale,  and  stalking  to 
within  about  a  hundred  yards  opened  fire.  A  young 
cow  dropped  at  the  first  shot,  to  all  appearances 
dead,  and  the  remainder  of  the  band  scurried  away, 
one  old  bull  being  badly  wounded.  The  hunters 
started  to  run  to  the  top  of  a  ridge,  over  which  the 
game  had  gone,  to  get  another  shot.  As  they 
passed  the  cow  the  guide  called  to  his  companion  to 
look  out  for  her,  as  she  was  only  ^* creased"  and 
liable  to  get  up  again  and  charge  them.  They  had 
gone  but  a  few  rods,  when,  sure  enough,  she  did 
spring  to  her  feet  and  make  a  dash  at  Frank. 
He  turned  to  shoot  her,  but  his  gun  missed  fire,  and 
as  he  attempted  to  throw  out  the  cartridge,  the  action 
failed  to  work,  and  his  gun  was,  for  the  moment, 
disabled.  By  this  time  she  was  almost  on  him,  and 
as  his  only  means  of  escape,  he  sprang  into  a 
'^washout"  (a  ditch  that  had  been  cut  by  the 
water,  some  ten  feet  deep),  the  sides  of  which  were 
perpendicular. 

He  called  loudly  for  help,  but  his  friend  had  not 
seen  the  charge,  and  was  by  this  time  a  hundred 
yards  away.  He  turned  and  saw  the  cow,  almost 
blind  with  rage,  rapidly  jumping  back  and  forth 
across  the  washout,  in  a  mad  effort  to  get  at  the 
guide,  but  she  seemed  unwilling  to  jump  down  into 
it.  She  was  shot  through  the  throat,  and  the  blood, 
flowing  from    her  in  torrents,   had  deluged  poor 


232  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

Frank,  until  lie  looked  as  if  lie  had  been  at  work  in 
a  slaughter- house.  The  scribe  ran  back,  killed  the 
cow,  and  drew  his  friend  from  his  sanguinary 
retreat. 

The  guide  then  repaired  his  gun,  and  mounting 
their  horses  they  pursued  the  wounded  bull.  They 
soon  found  him  at  bay,  and  riding  up  close  to  him, 
commenced  firing  at  him  with  their  revolvers. 
Quick  as  a  flash  of  lightning  he  made  a  frightful 
charge  at  the  journalist,  who,  taken  by  surprise,  was 
unable  to  avoid  the  rush.  Both  horse  and  rider 
were  dashed  to  the  earth.  The  horse  was  so  badly 
injured  as  to  be  unable  to  rise,  and  as  the  burly 
antagonist  made  another  rush  at  him,  the  man  was 
enabled  to  seek  safety  in  flight,  and  before  the  bull 
again  turned  his  attention  to  the  fugitive,  the  rapid 
and  well-directed  fire  of  the  scout  had  brought  the 
shaggy  beast  to  the  earth. 

The  horse  was  fatally  injured  and  had  to  be  shot, 
so  our  friends,  with  one  horse  between  them,  took 
turns  riding  and  walking  to  camp. 

This  day's  killing  by  the  party  was  large,  and 
supplied  all  their  wants  as  to  meat,  skins,  and  sport. 
The  next  few  days  were  devoted  to  jerking  meat, 
dressing  and  drying  skins,  and  preparing  for  the 
return  journey,  and  in  ten  days  from  the  date  of 
their  arrival  on  the  hunting  ground,  the  teams  were 
all  loaded  up,  camp  was  broken,  and  the  homeward 
march  was  begun,  which  progressed  uneventfully 
from  day  to  day,  and  was  made  in  safety  in  about 
the  same  time  occupied  in  going  out. 

Twice  during  the  hunt  the  party  were  alarmed  by 
the  discovery  of  Indians  lurking  about  their  camp^ 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


233 


late  in  the  night.  The  guards  discovered  them  in 
both  instances,  and  fired  on  them,  when  they  beat 
a  hasty  retreat  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness.  It 
was  not  known  that  their  object  was  anything  worse 
than  pilfering,  and  yet  there  was  little  doubt  that 
had  they  found  the  party  all  off  guard  and  asleep, 
a  massacre  would  have  resulted.  But,  true  to  their 
aboriginal  instincts,  they  did  not  wish  to  engage  in 
a  fight  with  a  formidable  foe,  whom  they  found  ever 
ready  for  such  an  emergency. 


PROWLERS. 


Such  scenes  and  such  sport  as  this  party  enjoyed 
were  common  almost  anywhere  on  the  great  plains 
west  of  the  Missouri  river  up  to  a  few  years  ago. 
Herds  of  buffalo  extending  over  a  tract  of  land  as 
large  as  one  of  the  New  England  States,  and  number- 
ing hundreds  of  thousands  of  heads,  might  be  found 
any  day  in  what  was  then  ''  buffalo  country."  An 
army  officer  told  me  that,  when  crossing  the  plains 
in  1867  with  a  company  of  cavalry,  he  encountered 
a  herd  that  it  took  his  command  three  days  to  ride 
through,  marching  about  thirty  miles  a  day. 

When  two  of  our  transcontinental  railways  were 


234  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

first  built  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  herds  of 
buffalo  to  delay  trains  for  several  hours  in  cross- 
ing the  tracks,  the  animals  being  packed  in  so  close 
together  that  the  train  could  not  force  a  passage 
through  them. 

But,  alas,  those  days  are  passed  forever.  This 
noble  creature,  provided  to  feed  the  human  mul- 
titude who  should  people  the  prairies,  is  to-day 
practically  extinct;  slaughtered  and  annihilated  by 
that  jackal  of  the  plains,  that  coyote  in  human 
shape,  the  **  skin  hunter."  Hundreds  of  thousands 
of  buffaloes  were  annually  killed,  their  skins  sold  at 
from  seventy -five  cents  to  a  dollar  and  a  half  each, 
and  the  meat  which,  when  properly  taken  care  of,  is 
equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the  finest  domestic  beef, 
was  left  to  rot  on  the  ground. 

There  are  scarcely  a  hundred  buffaloes  left  on  the 
continent  to  day  in  their  wild  state.  A  very  few 
stragglers  are  known  to  be  in  the  Panhandle  of 
Texas,  a  small  bunch  in  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park,  and  a  few  in  the  British  Northwest,  but 
they  are  being  remorselessly  pursued  by  large  num- 
bers of  hunters,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  a  year 
hence  not  one  will  be  left  in  the  whole  broad 
West  unless  it  be  those  in  the  park,  and  they  will 
escape  only  in  case  they  stay  within  the  park  limits 
where  they  are  protected  by  United  States  soldiers. 
Should  they  ever  stray  beyond  the  bounds  of  the 
park  they  will  all  be  killed  in  less  than  a  week. 

Several  small  bunches  have  been  domesticated  by 
Western  cattlemen,  and  it  is  hoped  the  species  may, 
by  this  means,  be  saved  from  total  extinction. 
They  are  being  successfully  cross-bred  with  domes- 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


235 


tic  cattle,  and  an  excellent  strain  of  stock  is  thus 
produced,  but  the  grand  herds  that  for  ages  roamed 
at  will  over  the  great  plains  are  a  thing  of  the 
past. 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

HUNTINa  THE  ROCKY   MOUNTAIN   GOAT. 

r"P^^HEllE  is,  perhaps,  no  large  mammal  in  this 

1 1  country  of  which  the  scientific  world  and 

Ih^         the  reading  public  in  general   knows  so 

iBk..A.....     little  as  of  the    Rocky  Mountain   goat 

IH^R     (^P^ocer-z^s  Montanus).     There  are  several 

IHj^^l     reasons  for  this.    First,  its  limited  range. 

iHHj^p     It  is  confined  to  a  small  area  of  the  Rocky 

Sb^^J      Mountains,  principally  west  of  the  main 

ntS%       divide ;  to  Western  Montana,  Eastern  Idaho, 

t  ^       the  Cascade  Range  inWashington  Territory, 

a  small  portion  of  British  Columbia,  and  to  Alaska. 

Secondly,  its  habitat  is  the  tops  or  near  the  tops  of  the 

highest  and  most  rugged  peaks  and  cliffs,  where 

none  but  the  hardiest  and  most  daring  hunter  may 

venture  in  pursuit  of  it,  and  so  comparatively  very 

few  are  ever  killed  and  brought  into  the  settlements. 

Third,  it  can  not  be  successfully  domesticated.     Its 

favorite   food  is  so  different  from  that  generally 

growing  in  or  near  any  settlement,  the  atmosphere 

it  breathes,  the  mean  temperature  in  which  it  lives, 

and  the  ground,   or  rather  rocks,  on  which  it  is 

accustomed  to  walk,  so  widely  different  from  those 

surrounding  any  human  habitation,   that  the  few 

(23G) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  237 

young  that  have  been  captured  and  brought  down 
to  the  settlements  have  soon  died.  So  that  none  of 
them  are  found  in  parks  and  zoological  gardens,  as 
are  specimens  of  nearly  all  other  large  wild  animals. 

There  are  fewer  mounted  skins  of  this  animal  in 
Eastern  museums  than  of  any  other  species  indige- 
nous to  this  country,  and  lience  the  public  and 
naturalists  have  had  fewer  opportunities  to  study 
and  become  familiar  with  it  than  with  other  wild 
mammals.  Yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
interesting  of  all  our  American  quadrupeds,  and 
probably  no  sportsman  or  naturalist  has  ever  yet 
mustered  courage  and  hardihood  enough  to  go  where 
lie  could  kill  a  Rocky  Mountain  goat  without  feel- 
ing amply  repaid  for  all  the  labor  and  hardship 
encountered  by  being  able  to  behold  this  mystic 
creature  in  his  lofty  mountain  home.  In  view  of 
the  limited  facilities  people  have  had  for  studying 
this  animal  a  somewhat  minute  description  of  it  may 
not  be  amiss  here. 

In  size  it  is  but  a  trifle  larger  than  the  Merino 
sheep,  which,  in  fact,  it  closely  resembles  in  many 
respects.  The  form  of  its  body  is  robust,  fore  parts 
rather  thicker  than  hinder  parts,  with  a  slight  hump 
over  shoulders,  similiar  to  that  of  the  American 
bison.  Its  color  is  entirely  white,  or,  in  some 
instances,  of  a  light  creamy  shade.  Hair  long  and 
pendant.  A  beard-like  tuft  of  hair  on  the  chin. 
Long  coarse  hair,  more  abundant,  on  shoulders,  neck, 
and  back.  Under  and  intermixed  with  this  long 
hair  there  is  a  close  coat  of  fine,  silky,  white  wool, 
equal  in  fineness  to  that  of  the  Cashmere  goat.  Hair 
on  face  and  legs  short  and  without  wool.     Horns 


238  CKUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

(which  are  present  in  both  sexes)  jet  black,  small, 
conical,  nearly  erect,  polished,  and  curving  slightly 
backward;  ringed  or  wrinkled  at  the  base,  much  like 
those  of  the  chamois.  Muzzle  and  hoofs  also  black. 
False  or  accessory  hoofs  present.  Dentition:  Incisors, 
8  lower;  canines,  none;  molars,  12  upper,  12  lower; 
total  32.  The  mountain  goat  brings  forth  two 
or  three  young  at  a  time,  usually  late  in  May  or 
early  in  June.  Slightly  gregarious,  being  frequently 
found  in  small  bands  in  winter,  but  in  summer  sea- 
son not  more  than  a  single  family  is  usually  seen 
together,  and  in  summer  and  fall  the  older  males 
may  frequently  be  found  entirely  alone.  The  nose 
is  nearly  straight,  ears  rather  long,  pointed,  and 
lined  with  long  hair.  Tail  six  to  eight  inches  long, 
clothed  with  long  hair.  Legs  thick  and  short. 
Hoofs  grooved  on  sole  and  provided  with  a  thick 
spongy  mass  of  cartilage  in  centre,  projecting  below 
the  outer  edges  of  hoof,  enabling  the  animal  to 
cling  firmly  to  steep  or  smooth  rocks.  The  dimen- 
sions of  one  adult  male  specimen  measured  are  as 
follows:  Length  from  tip  of  nose  to  root  of  tail,  3 
feet  7  inches;  length  of  tail,  7  inches;  length  of  head, 
Hi  inches;  length  of  horns,  8^  inches;  diameter  of 
horns  at  base,  1  inch.  Its  estimated  gross  weight  ia 
130  pounds. 

The  food  of  the  mountain  goat  consists  principally, 
in  summer,  of  the  leaves  of  the  alder  and  of  various 
mountain  shrubs,  and  in  winter  of  mosses  and 
lichens  that  grow  on  the  rocks. 

Aplocerus  Montanus  is  much  more  closely  allied 
to  the  antelope  than  to  the  domestic  goat,  and  has 
few    characteristics    in    common    with    the    latter 


AND    OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  239 

t 

genus.  He  is  an  agile,  fearless  climber,  and  appears 
to  delight  in  scaling  the  tallest,  grandest,  and  most 
rugged  crags  and  cliffs  to  be  found  in  the  ranges 
which  he  inhabits,  not  so  much  in  quest  of  his 
favorite  food,  for  this  grows  abundantly  lower  down, 
but  apparently  from  a  mere  spirit  of  daring;  from  a 
desire  to  breathe  the  rarest  and  purest  atmosphere 
obtainable,  and  to  view  the  grandest  scenery  under 
the  sun  without  having  his  vision  in  the  least 
obstructed  by  intervening  objects.  These  forbidding 
and  almost  inaccessible  crags  are  the  favorite,  and 
nearly  the  exclusive,  haunts  of  this  strange  creature, 
and  the  hunter  who  follows  it  thither  must  indeed 
be  a  daring  mountaineer.  The  goat  is  frequently 
found  at  altitudes  of  10,000  to  14,000  feet,  where  the 
atmosphere  is  so  rare  as  to  render  it  difficult  indeed 
for  man  to  climb,  yet  this  fearless  creature  nimbly 
leaps  from  crag  to  crag,  over  deep  yawning  chasms, 
with  no  more  fear  than  the  domestic  lamb  feels  when 
bounding  over  the  greensward  in  an  Eastern  farm- 
yard. 

The  hunter  literally  takes  his  life  in  his  hand 
when  pursuing  the  goat,  for  he  must  pass  over  many 
places  where  a  misstep  or  a  slip  of  a  few  inches 
would  plunge  him  over  a  precipice,  where  he  would 
fall  thousands  of  feet,  or  be  hurled  into  some  narrow 
and  deep  fissure  in  the  rocks  whence  escape  would 
be  impossible. 

Over  such  rugged  and  perilous  ground  he  may 
climb,  hour  after  hour,  until  he  has  passed  the  high- 
est ranges  of  the  elk,  the  mountain  sheep,  and  all  the 
other  game,  for  the  mountain  goat,  '^  the  American 
chamois,"    as  he  has  been    aptly    termed,    ranges 


240  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

higher  than  any  of  them.  He  may  toil  on  until  he 
is  far  above  timber  line,  and  is  working  his  way 
over  and  around  vast  drifts  and  beds  of  j)erpetual 
snow  and  ice.  Finally  he  sights  bis  game— a  fine 
handsome  specimen — standing  fearlessly  on  some  jut- 
ting crag,  deliberately  feeding  on  some  tender  lichens 
or,  perhaps,  peering  proudly  out  over  the  lower 
world.  The  hunter  now  changes  his  course  until  lie 
can  conceal  himself  behind  some  neighboring  rock, 
and  then  crawls  stealthily  and  cautiously  up  to 
within  rifle  range  of  the  game.  Then,  peering  cau- 
tiously from  behind  his  cover,  he  takes  careful  aim 
and  fires.  He  is  a  dead  shot  and  the  rifle  ball  pierces 
the  heart  of  the  quarry,  but  to  his  dismay  it  makes 
a  convulsive  bound  and  down  it  goes  over  the  j)reci- 
pice,  rebounding  from  crag  to  crag,  until  it  finally 
reaches  a  resting  place  hundreds  of  feet  below.  It 
may  go  to  where  lie  can  never  reach  it,  or  may  land 
where  he  can  recover  it  on  bis  return  down  the 
mountain  side;  but  if  the  latter,  it  may  be  torn  to 
fragments  and  scattered  here  and  there  until  the 
hide  is  useless,  the  horns  are  broken  off,  the  skull 
crushed  so  that  the  head  is  unfit  to  mount,  and  the 
flesh  so  bruised  and  mangled  that  he  can  scarcely 
save  enough  of  it  to  make  him  a  dinner. 

A  few  years  ago  an  officer  of  the  United  States 
army  and  a  party  of  friends  were  hunting  goats  in 
the  Bitter  Root  Mountains,  near  Missoula,  Mont. 
They  followed  two— a  male  and  female — to  the  top 
of  a  rough  and  dangerous  peak,  when  the  game, 
before  they  could  get  a  shot  at  it,  started  down  the 
opposite  side  and  took  refuge  from  the  hunters 
under  a  shelving  rock.     Here  it  was,  owing  to  the 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  241 

nature  of  tlie  rocks  and  ice,  absolutely  impossible 
for  the  hunters  to  follow  them  on  foot,  but  the 
intrepid  officer,  not  to  be  baffled  in  the  pursuit,  tied  a 
long  rope  securely  around  his  body,  just  under  his 
arms,  laid  down,  and  gr  sping  his  rifle  slid  quietly 
down,  on  a  bed  of  ice,  some  sixty  or  seventy  feet, 
while  his  companions  held  on  to  the  other  end  of  the 
rope  and  controlled  his  perilous  descent.  Finally, 
when  he  had  gone  far  enough  to  be  able  to  see  the 
game,  he  signaled  his  friends,  who  stopped  him,  and 
raising  on  his  elbows  he  fired  and  killed  both  goats, 
and  was  then  drawn  up  again  in  safety.  Such, 
however,  was  the  nature  of  the  rocks  between  him 
and  the  carcasses  that  it  was  utterly  impossible  to 
reach  them  after  he  had  killed  them,  and  he  was 
compelled  reluctantly  to  abandon  them.  Several 
members  of  the  party  tried  to  reach  them  from 
other  i)oints,  but  were  unable  to  do  so,  and  they 
were  all  obliged  to  return  empty-banded  to 
camj). 

In  another  instance  this  same  officer,  upon  crawl- 
ing out  on  the  edge  of  a  shelving  rock  and  looking 
down  over  a  precipice  hundreds  of  feet  below,  saw 
two  goats  near  the  base,  but  they  were  actually  inside 
of  a  perpendicular  line  running  down  from  the  edge 
of  the  rock  he  occupied,  and  he  was  therefore  unable 
to  bring  bis  rifle  to  bear  upon  them  without  x^roject- 
ing  his  body  out  over  the  edge  of  the  rock  further 
than  was  safe.  After  discussing  the  matter  for 
some  minutes,  one  of  his  friends  offered  to  hold  his 
feet  and  thus  enable  him  to  extend  his  head  and 
shoulders  far  enough  out  to  get  his  aim.  By  this 
means  both  of  the  goats  were  killed,  but  a  party 

16 


242  CRUISHSTGS   IT^   THE   CASCADES 

had  to  go  around  and  ascend  the  mountain  from  the 
other  side  in  order  to  secure  them. 

The  same  party,  while  climbing  the  rugged  and 
almost  perpendicular  face  of  Little  Mountain  to 
bring  down  some  goats  they  had  already  killed, 
came  suddenly  upon  a  large  buck  in  a  narrow  V- 
shaped  hssure  in  the  rock,  from  which  there  was  no- 
escape  but  by  the  opening  at  which  they  had  entered, 
and  across  this  they  formed  a  skirmish  line.  The 
goat  climbed  upon  a  narrow  projection  on  one  of  the 
w^alls  of  the  fissure  just  out  of  reach  of  the  tallest 
man  in  the  party,  and  as  they  had  no  rifles  with 
them  (having  left  them  below  to  lighten  the  labor  of 
the  ascent),  they  tried  to  dislodge  him  by  throwing 
rocks  at  him,  but  their  footing  was  so  insncure  and 
there  was  such  great  danger  of  their  falling  that 
they  could  not  hurl  these  with  sufficient  force  ta 
bring  him  down  I  hough  several  of  them  hit  him.  If 
they  had  had  a  rope  they  could  easily  have  lassoed 
him,  but  there  was  no  such  thing  at  hand.  They 
finally  decided  to  leave  one  of  the  men  to  guard 
their  prisoner,  and  on  their  return  to  camp  another 
man  took  a  rifle,  went  back,  killed  the  goat,  and  the 
two  bore  him  triumphantly  down  to  camp.  The 
gentleman  says  :  ' '  Had  I  not  been  an  eye  witness, 
and  had  I  subsequently  been  shown  the  place  Avhere 
the  goat  stood  thus  at  bay,  I  could  scarcely  have 
believed  it  possible  for  anything  larger  than  a  fly  to 
have  found  footing  there. ' ' 

Fortunately,  however,  the  successful  hunting  of 
the  goat  is  not  always  thus  perilous,  for  though  he 
habitually  selects  for  his  home  the  roughest  and 
most  inaccessible  peaks  to  be  found  in  the  mount- 


AT^D   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  243 

ains,  yet  he  sometimes  ranges  on  more  favorable 
ground,  and  if  the  sportsman  be  so  fortunate  as  to 
find  him  there  he  may  be  killed  and  saved.  They 
range  somewhat  lower  in  winter  than  in  summer, 
but  never  even  then  venture  down  into  the  canons 
or  valleys,  as  do  all  the  other  large  mountain  ani- 
mals. They  only  come  down  upon  the  lower  peaks 
and  ridges,  and  remain  about  the  rocky  walls,  which 
are  so  j)recipitous  that  the  snow  can  not  lie  on  them 
to  any  considerable  dei)th.  Their  power  of  climbing 
over  and  walking  on  these  almost  perpendicular 
rock  walls  is  utterly  astounding.  They  will  walk 
along  the  side  of  an  upright 'projecting  ledge  that 
towers  hundreds  of  feet  above  and  below  them 
where  a  shelf  projects  not  more  than  four  or  five 
inches  wide.  They  will  climb  straight  up  an  almost 
perpendicular  wall,  if  only  slightly  rough  and  irre- 
gular, so  that  they  can  get  a  chance  to  hold  on  with 
their  spongy  hoofs  here  and  there.  And  they  seem 
to  select  these  difficult  passes  in  many  instances 
when  a  good,  easy  passage  could  be  had  to  the  place 
to  which  they  are  bound  by  going  a  little  further 
around.  They  seem  to  delight  in  scaling  a  danger- 
ous cliff  as  a  courageous  boy  does  in  climbing  the 
tallest  tree.  I  once  saw  where  a  goat  had  walked 
straight  up  over  a  smooth  fiat  slab  of  granite  ten 
feet  wide,  that  laid  at  an  angle  of  about  fifty  degrees, 
and  that  was  covered  with  about  two  inches  of  wet 
snow  and  slush.  I  could  not  climb  up  it  with  moc- 
casins on  my  feet,  and  no  dog  could  have  followed 
him  there.  This  faculty  is  accounted  for  by  the 
peculiar  shape  and  quality  of  their  hoofs  before 
described. 


244  CRUISIXGS   IN   THE   CASCADES 

The  skin  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  goat  has  never 
had  any  regular  commercial  value.  The  stiff,  coarse, 
brittle  hair  that  is  mixed  with  the  wool  renders  them 
unsuitable  for  robes  or  rugs,  and  this  hair  can  not 
readily  be  plucked  out.  The  only  demand  for  them 
is  for  mounting.  Yery  few  white  hunters  and  none 
of  the  Indians  understand  how  to  skin  and  preserve 
them  properly  for  this  purpose,  and  this  fact,  taken 
in  connection  with  that  of  the  rough  and  dan- 
gerous nature  of  the  ground  they  inhabit,  makes 
it  difficult  to  secure  good  skins,  or  even  heads  for 
mounting. 

The  liesh  of  the  goat  is  edible,  but  in  the  adult 
animal  is  dry  and  tasteless.  When  kids  of  less  than 
a  year  old  can  be  obtained,  their  flesh  is  tender  and 
toothsome.  They  are  not  hunted, therefore, for  meat, 
for  in  the  ranges  where  they  are  found,  deer,  mount- 
ain sheep,  or  elks  can  be  obtained  much  lower  down 
and  are  much  more  desirable  for  the  table. 

During  a  sojourn  of  a  month  in  the  Bitter  Root 
Mountains,  near  Missoula,  Mont.,  last  fall  I  had 
some  very  exciting,  not  to  say  dangerous,  experi- 
ences in  hunting  this  animal.  We  were  camx)ed  in 
Lost  Horse  Canon,  through  which  flows  a  typical 
mountain  stream.  The  walls  on  both  sides  are  very 
abrupt  and  from  three  to  four  thousand  feet  in  height. 
That  on  the  north  is  covered  from  bottom  to  top  with 
great  masses  of  granite  that  have  been  broken  loose 
from  the  cliffs  at  the  top  by  earthquakes,  the  action 
of  frost,  or  othei*  agency,  and  have  tumbled  down, 
breaking  into  irregular-shaped  fragments,  of  all  sizes, 
lodging  and  piling  on  top  of  each  other  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  form  a  gigantic  sort  of  pavement  from 


AND    OTHEII   HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  245 

the  top  of  the  mountain  to  the  foot.  There  were 
narrow  strips  of  the  mountain  side  that  had  escaped 
these  fallen  masses.  Here  the  outcropping  granite 
re  iiained  in  its  natural  shape — irregular  ledges  with 
small  iDatches  of  earth  intervening.  Pines,  hemlocks, 
cedars,  and  various  kinds  of  shrubs  grew  in  these 
places  as  far  up  the  mountain  side  as  the  timber  line. 
I  ascended  tliis  north  wall  one  morning  and  after 
a  weary  and  toilsome  climb  of  about  two  miles, 
and  when  in  snow  about  six  inches  deep,  I  came 
upon  the  track  of  a  very  large  goat.  It  was 
some  hours  old,  but  he  had  been  feeding  deliberately 
along  the  mountain  side,  and  as  they  are  not  rapid 
travelers  in  any  case,  I  knew  he  was  not  a  great 
distance  away.  I  took  up  the  trail  and  followed  it. 
It  led  over  a  succession  of  these  vast  rock  piles, 
which,  owing  to  their  being  covered  with  snow,  made 
the  traveling  doubly  dangerous.  A  slight  misstep 
at  any  point,  or  an  unfortunate  slip  would  be  liable 
to  let  my  foot  drop  in  between  two  of  these  rocks 
and  throw  me  in  such  a  way  as  to  break  a  leg,  an  arm, 
or  possibly  my  head.  The  greatest  care  was  there- 
fore necessary  in  picking  my  w^ay  over  this  dangerous 
country,  and  I  was  frequently  struck  with  the  wise 
provisions  which  Nature  makes  for  fulfilling  her 
ends  when  I  saw  where  the  animal  I  was  pursuing 
had  bounded  lightly  from  rock  to  rock  over  chasms 
many  feet  in  width;  or  where  he  had  walked  up  the 
sharp  edge  of  some  slab  of  granite  not  more  than 
three  or  four  inches  wide  and  lying  at  a  high  angle; 
or  where  he  had  walked  up  over  a  flat  slab  of  it, 
tilted  so  steep  that  no  other  large  animal  in  the 
mountains  could  have  followed  him.     There  were 


246  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

many  of  his  passages  in  which  I  could  not  follow, 
but  I  had  to  make  slow  and  tortuous  detours,  coming 
upon  his  trail  again  beyond  these  most  dangerous 
points. 

Had  he  traveled  straight  ahead  I  could  never  have 
overtaken  him,  but  the  time  he  consumed  in  fre- 
quently stopping  to  nip  the  tender  leaves  of  the 
mountain  alder  or  the  juicy  lichens  that  grow  upon 
the  rocks  proved  fatal  to  him,  and  finally,  after  a 
chase  of  probably  two  miles  and  when  near  the  top 
of  the  peak  close  to  timber  line,  I  came  in  sght  of 
him.  He  was  truly  a  beautiful  creature.  There  he 
stood,  unconscious  of  approaching  danger,  look- 
ing calmly  out  across  a  neighboring  canon  as  if 
enjoying  the  grand  scenery  about  him.  Occasionally 
he  turned  to  take  a  mouthful  of  some  delicate  mount- 
ain herb  that  stood  near  him  The  pale  creamy  white 
of  his  fleece  contrasted  delicately  and  beautifully 
with  the  green  of  the  cedars,  the  golden  autumn-col- 
ored leaves  of  the  shrubs,  the  dull  gray  of  the  granite 
rocks,  and  the  pure  white  of  the  early  autumn  snow. 
The  sunlight  glistened  upon  the  polished  black  of 
his  proudly  curved  and  beautifully  rounded  horns, 
and  his  large  black  eyes  gleamed  as  with  conscious 
innocence  and  pride.  I  contemplated  his  majestic 
mien  for  several  minutes  before  I  could  nerve  my- 
self to  the  task  of  taking  his  life,  but  finally  the 
hunter's  instinct  conquered  my  more  delicate  feel- 
ings. I  put  my  rifle  to  my  shoulder,  pressed  the 
gently  yielding  trigger,  and  in  an  instant  more  his 
life  blood  crimsoned  the  driven  snow. 

After  making  temporary  disposition  of  his  remains, 
I  returned  as  rapidly  as  jDossible  to  camj)  to  get  my 


AND   OTHER   HUXTIXG   ADVENTURES.  247 

photographic  outfit  and  some  help  to  carry  him 
in,  for  we  were  short  of  meat  at  the  time.  It  was 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  I  reached  camp, 
and,  eating  a  hasty  lunch,  I  started  back  up  the 
mountain  with  three  of  my  friends. 

When  we  again  reached  the  carcass  it  was  five 
o'  clock,  and  our  work  must  be  done  hastily  in  order  to 
get  down  the  mountain  as  far  as  possible  before  dark. 
To  add  to  the  discomfort  of  our  undertaking  a  driz- 
zling rain  set  in  just  as  I  was  ready  to  make  the  views. 
I  exposed  a  couple  of  plates,  however,  which  for- 
tunately turned  out  fairly.  We  then  set  to  work  to 
skin  him  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  as  soon  as  this 
was  accomplished  we  started  on  our  return  to  camp, 
two  of  the  men  taking  the  two  hind  quarters  of  the 
animal,  another  my  camera,  and  I  the  skin  and  head. 
With  these  loads,  weighing  from  twenty -five  to 
thirty-five  pounds  each,  besides  our  rifies,  and  con- 
sidering the  difiicult  and  dangerous  nature  of  the 
ground  we  had  to  travel  over  and  the  fact  that  it  was 
already  beginning  to  grow  dark,  we  had,  indeed,  a 
perilous  journey  before  us.  Climbing  over  these  rock 
piles  when  covered  with  snow  was  difficult  enough 
work  in  daylight,  but  to  attempt  it  in  the  dark- 
ness and  now  that  it  was  raining  heavily,  the  snow 
having  become  wet  and  slushy  and  the  rocks  more 
slippery  than  before,  it  was  doubly  perilous. 

Our  course  lay  diagonally  down  and  along  the  side 
of  the  mountain,  and  as  long  as  the  light  was  suffi- 
cient to  at  all  see  where  we  were  stepping  we  made 
fair  progress.  Frequently,  however,  someone  would 
slip  and  fall,  but  fortunately  without  receiving  any 
serious  injury.     We  were  often  compelled  to  hold  to 


248  CRUISIXGS  IN  TPIE   CASCADES 

some  sliriib  or  tree  and  let  ourselves  down  over  pro- 
jecting rocks  several  feet,  where  we  could  not  possi- 
bly have  stood  up  without  such  aid. 

Finall}^  when  we  were  yet  less  than  half  way  down 
the  mountain  side,  it  became  pitch  dark.  Here  we 
sat  down  to  rest.  The  rain  was  falling  in  torrents, 
and  but  for  the  snow  on  the  ground  we  could  not 
now  have  seen  a  step  ahead  of  us.  We  had  entered 
one  of  those  more  favored  strips  of  land  wdiere  the 
falling  rocks  had  not  covered  the  ground  entirely, 
and  where  there  was  a  considerable  growth  of  timber, 
both  large  trees  and  underbrush.  I  was  in  favor  of 
going  straight  down  through  this  into  the  creek  bot- 
tom where  we  could  at  least  walk  in  safety,  even  if 
our  progress  should  be  slower.  One  of  my  friends 
— Mr.  Overturf — agreed  with  me,  but  the  other  two 
— Mr.  McWhirk  and  Mr.  Hinchman— preferred  to 
continue  over  the  rocks  in  a  direct  line  to  camp.  We 
therefore  decided  to  separate,  Frank  and  I  going 
straight  down  through  this  strip  of  timber  and  over 
the  smoother  ground,  and  the  other  two'  following 
the  more  direct  course. 

We  two  reached  the  foot  of  the  mountain  in  about 
an  hour  more;  not,  however,  without  encountering 
serious  difficulties  in  grasping  and  finding  our  way 
down  over  i3recii3itous  rocks  and  earth,  hanging  on 
to  one  limb  or  shrub  until  we  came  in  reach  of 
another,  and  thus  letting  ourselves  down  safely. 
We  were  then  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  camp. 
The  creek  bottom  was  densely  timbered.  There  was. 
a  dim  game  trail  leading  through  it  up  to  our  camp, 
but  it  was  impossible  to  follow  it  in  the  darkness, 
and,  in  fact,  it  required  the  closest  attention  of  experi- 


AND    OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  249 

enced  wood -men  and  hunters  to  follow  it  in  day- 
light. We  were  therefore  utterly  at  sea.  We  were 
safe,  however,  and  we  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief  when 
we  found  ourselves  on  level  ground,  for  none  of  us 
had  relished  the  idea  of  having  a  bone  broken  in  that 
country,  so  far  from  medical  aid  and  home  comforts. 

Great  snow  slides  had  for  ages  been  coming  down 
these  mountain  sides  bringing  their  debris,  such 
as  rocks,  and  logs,  and  whole  trees  with  them. 
These  had  frequently  gone  some  distance  into  the 
creek  bottom,  breaking  and  felling  all  the  trees  in 
their  path .  Tornadoes  had  raged  through  the  canon, 
also,  breaking  and  lopping  trees  in  various  direc- 
tions, so  that  we  now  encountered  a  body  of  woods 
through  which  the  most  expert  woodsman  could  not 
possibly  travel  more  than  a  mile  an  hour  in  day- 
light. Add  to  this  the  cimmerian  darkness  in  which 
we  were  now  groping  (for  there  was  no  snow  here  in 
the  bottom  of  the  canon)  aiid  the  reader  may  well 
imagine  that  our  progress  was  slow  and  tedious  in 
the  extreme. 

We  sat  down  and  held  another  consultation.  I 
favored  building  a  hre  and  staying  there  till  morn- 
ing, but  Frank  preferred  pushing  on  to  camp,  so  I 
acquiesced.  We  soon  found,  however,  that  it  was 
utterly  impossible  for  us  to  get  through  these  wind- 
falls in  the  darkness  and  with  our  heavy  loads,  and 
decided  as  a  last  resort  to  get  into  the  bed  of  the 
creek  and  wade  up  it.  We  were  already  wet  to  the 
skin  from  head  to  foot,  and  this  wading  could  be  no 
worse  than  clambering  over  logs  and  through  jungles 
of  wet  underbrush.  We  soon  reached  the  creek  and 
our  hearts  sank  within  us  as  we  listened  to  its  tumult- 


250  CRUISINGS   IN   THE   CASCADES 

nous  roar  and  looked  ujDon  its  an^ry  bosom,  for 
here  we  were  enabled  to  see  slightly,  owing  to  the 
faint  light  admitted  through  the  narrow  opening  in 
the  trees  overhead,  how  rough  and  boisterous  it  was! 
Its  bed  was  a  succession  of  bowlders  from  the  size  of 
a  man's  head  to  that  of  a  small  house,  and  its  waters, 
€oming  direct  from  the  snow,  were  ice  cold  Yet  to 
camp  here  was  to  suffer  all  night  from  wet  and  cold, 
and  we  preferred  to  push  on. 

By  keeping  near  the  shore  we  could  nearly  all  the 
time  have  brush  to  hang  to  and  steady  ourselves, 
but  where  there  were  none  of  these  in  reach  our 
rubber  boots  slipped  on  the  smooth  wet  rocks,  and 
several  times  we  fell  into  the  icy  flood  u}«  to  our 
chins.  Once,  in  particular,  I  fell  in  water  nearly 
three  feet  deep,  dropped  my  gun  and  it  went  to  the 
bottom.  I  tislied  it  out,  however,  staggered  to  my 
feet,  and  struggled  on. 

After  nearly  two  hours  of  this  terrible  trudging, 
wading,  and  staggering,  we  at  last  reached  camp  at 
eleven  o'clock  at  night  and  triumphantly  deposited 
our  burdens  within  tlie  tent. 

Our  two  friends,  from  whom  we  had  separated  en 
Toute^  had  arrived  only  half  an  hour  ahead  of  us,  and 
notwithstanding  the  rain,  which  still  fell  heavily, 
Dr.  Hale,  who  had  remained  in  camp,  had  a  great 
log-heap  fire  blazing  in  front  of  the  tent.  A  pot  of 
coffee  steamed  by  the  Are,  and  a  sumptuous  supper 
of  broiled  bear  steaks,  baked  potatoes,  and  hot 
biscuits  awaited  us,  but  I  was  too  tired  to  eat.  I 
drank  a  pint  of  hot  coffee,  put  on  dry  flannels, 
crawled  into  my  blankets,  and  slept  soundly  till 
morninf]:. 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  251 

As  further  illustrating  the  habits  of  the  mountain 
goat  and  the  perils  attending  its  capture,  I  may  be 
permitted  to  narrate  the  experience  of  Mr.  West- 
lake,  a  ranchman  in  Eastern  Idaho,  who  attemx)ted 
to  procure  a  j)air  of  skins  for  a  friend  in  the  East  a 
few  years  ago.  He  employed  a  Flathead  Indian  as 
guide  and  assistant,  who  claimed  to  know  the  country 
thoroughly  in  which  they  purposed  hunting,  and  to 
have  had  considerable  experience  in  hunting  goats. 
Mr.  West  lake  provided  himself  with  a  good  saddle- 
horse  and  one  pack-horse,  a  rifle,  camp  outfit,  includ- 
ing a  small  tent,  and  i^rovisions  for  himself  and  the 
Indian  for  twenty  days.  The  Indian  was  fairly 
mounted  on  a  small  but  tough  Indian  pony  and  well 
armed.  They  set  out  on  September  2,  and  traveled 
across  the  country  to  the  Clearwater  river,  up  which 
they  rode  several  days,  over  a  very  difficult  and  tedi- 
ous trail,  and  when  well  up  toward  the  head  of  the 
stream  they  reached  the  mouth  of  one  of  its  tribu- 
taries which  debouches  from  a  deep  and  rugged 
canon.  Up  this  they  decided  to  go,  for  it  was  their 
intention  to  reach  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains,  one 
of  the  best  known  ranges  for  the  goat. 

This  canon  proved,  like  many  others  in  that 
region,  almost  imj)assable  for  man  or  beast,  and  it 
was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  and  by  the  endurance 
of  untold  and  incredible  hardships  that  they  were 
able  to  make  seven  or  eight  miles  a  day.  They 
encountered  plenty  of  game  in  the  canon,  however, 
among  which  were  elks,  bears,  and  mule-deer,  and 
the  creek  which  ran  through  the  canon  yielded 
them  an  abundance  of  trout,  so  that  they  fared 
sumptuously  so  far  as  food  was  concerned. 


252  CRUISINGS   IN   THE   CASCADES 

Finally,  after  several  clays  in  this  canon,  they 
reached  the  head  of  it  and  came  ont  on  a  high  pla- 
teau which  was  covered  with  *  heavy  pine  timber 
interspersed  with  beautiful  parks  or  meadows  and 
thickets  of  aspen  and  alder.  Numerous  springs  boil- 
ing up  here  coursed  down  into  the  canon  from  which 
they  had  just  emerged,  and  fed  the  creek  which  ran 
through  it.  Pressing  forward  across  this  forma- 
tion for  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles,  they  reached 
the  base  of  one  of  the  great  snow-capped  peaks, 
near  the  top  of  which  they  expected  to  iind  the  par- 
ticular game  of  which  they  were  in  search.  But 
this  mountain  was  so  precipitous  and  so  rough  that 
it  was  impossible  for  them  to  get  their  horses  up  it  in 
any  way.  They  discussed  various  plans  of  accom- 
plishing their  object.  It  was  highly  dangerous  to 
leave  their  horses  here  alone,  lest  the  bears  or 
mountain  lions,  which  were  so  numerous  in  the 
vicinity,  should  stampede  and  run  them  off.  It  was 
impossible  for  either  man  to  go  alone  and  bring 
down  two  of  the  skins  and  heads  suitably  i^repared 
for  mounting,  as  they,  with  the  other  load  which  it 
was  necessary  to  take  along,  would  be  more  than 
any  one  man  could  carry.  It  would  take  two  days 
to  make  the  ascent,  have  a  few  hours  for  hunting, 
and  return  to  where  they  then  were,  and  in  order  to 
pass  the  night  at  all  comfortably  in  that  high  alti- 
tude a  liberal  supply  of  blankets  must  be  carried. 

They  therefore  decided,  as  the  only  feasible  plan, 
to  make  camp  where  they  were  and  start  up  early 
the  next  morning,  leaving  their  horses  behind. 
They  made  all  possible  preparations  that  night,  and 
the  next  morning  arose  at  four  o'clock.     By  sunrise 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  253 

they  had  breakfasted,  and  with  their  packs,  con- 
sisting of  two  pairs  of  blankets  each  and  a  two  days' 
supply  of  cooked  food,  they  started.  They  did  not 
dare  picket  or  hobble  their  horses,  as  either  would 
give  the  wild  beasts  a  chance  to  attack  and  kill 
them,  and  could  only  trust  to  luck,  an  abundant 
supply  of  good  grass  and  water,  and  the  well-known 
attachment  which  nearly  all  Western  horses  feel  for 
a  camp,  to  keep  thsm  there  until  their  return. 

After  a  hard  day's  climb  they  came  upon  abun- 
dant signs  of  goats  about  the  middle  of  the  after- 
noon, and,  preparing  a  temporary  bivouac  under  a 
shelving  rock,  they  deposited  their  loads,  made  a 
pot  of  coffee,  ate  a  hearty  dinner,  and  started  out  to 
look  for  the  game.  They  had  not  gone  far  when 
Mr.  Westlake  sighted  a  large,  handsome  male  goat 
standing  on  the  top  of  a  cliff,  and  approaching 
within  easy  rifle  range  he  flred  and  killed  it.  It  fell 
some  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  and  lodged  behind  a  i)ro- 
jecting  slab  of  granite.  It  was  secured  after  consid- 
erable hard  work,  hastily  sl^inned,  and  the  skin  and 
some  of  the  best  cuts  of  the  meat  carried  to  their 
temporary  camp.  Night  was  now  approaching,  and 
the  hunters  set  about  preparing  a  supply  of  wood. 
There  were  numerous  dead  pine  and  cedar  trees,  of 
stunted  growth  and  peculiar  shapes,  standing  and 
lying  among  the  rocks,  and  a. generous  supply  was 
soon  provided.  Next,  a  large  quantity  of  cedar 
boughs  were  cut,  brought  in  and  spread  under  the 
overhanging  rock,  to  a  depth  of  a  foot  or  more.  On 
these  the  blankets  were  spread,  and  the  hunters  had  a 
bed  which  many  a  tired  lodger  in  Eastern  city  hotels 
might  well  envy  them.     By  building  a  rousing  Are 


254  CEUISIXGS   IT^   THE   CASCADES 

in  front,  which  was  reflected  against  the  rock  wall 
behind  them,  and  by  occasionally  replenishing  it 
during  the  night,  they  sle^^t  comfortably,  though 
the  temperature  ran  several  degrees  below  zero. 

Early  the  next  morning  both  men  started  out  in 
search  of  a  female  goat  to  complete  their  under- 
taking. Nearly  two  hours  had  been  sjjent  in  hunt- 
ing, when  the  Indian  found  a  fresh  track  in  the 
snow  some  distunce  above  their  temporary  camp. 
He  followed  it  until  it  led  in  among  a  forest  of  rent 
and  jagged  cliffs  of  granite,  and  Westlake,  wlio 
was  some  distance  away,  seeing  by  the  Indian's 
motions  that  he  was  on  a  trail,  started  toward  him. 
When  within  a  few  feet  of  Avhere  he  had  last  seen 
the  Indian  he  heard  the  report  of  his  rifle,  and  a 
shout  announced  that  his  shot  had  been  successful. 
Mr.  Westlake  followed  on  into  the  chasm  from 
whence  the  report  came  and  saw  the  Indian  attempt- 
ing to  scale  the  side  of  a  nearly  x)9rpendicular  wall 
of  rock,  stepping  cautiously  from  niche  to  niche 
and  shelf  to  shelf;  holding  on  with  his  hands  to 
every  projecting  point  that  afforded  him  any  assist- 
ance. He  finally  reached  the  top  of  the  ledge,  and 
reaching  over  caught  hold  of  the  now  lifeless  body  of 
the  goat  ihat  he  had  killed,  and  drew  it  toward  him. 
But  when  it  swung  off  from  the  top  ot  the  ledge  its 
weight  and  the  consequent  strain  on  his  muscular 
power  was  greater  than  the  Indian  had  anticijjated, 
and  before  he  had  time  to  let  go  of  the  carcass  and 
save  himself  his  slight  hold  on  the  rock  Avas  torn 
loose,  and  uttering  a  wild  shriek  he  fell  a  distance  of 
nearly  sixty  feet,  striking  on  a  heap  of  broken 
rocks !     He  was  instantly  killed. 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  255 

Here  was  a  sad  blow  to  poor  Westlake.  His  only 
comxmnion,  Ms  faithful  guide,  and  the  only  human 
being  within  fifty  miles  of  him,  lay  a  corpse  at  his 
feet.  He  had  no  means  whatever  of  getting  the 
body  back  to  their  camp,  much  less  of  returning  it 
to  the  unfortunate  red  man' s  friends.  He  had  not 
even  a  tool  of  any  kind  to  dig  a  grave  with,  and  the 
only  thing  he  could  do  in  that  direction  was  to  build 
a  wall  of  rocks  around  the  body,  lay  some  flat  slabs 
across  the  top,  and  then  carry  and  lay  on  top  of 
these  a  number  of  the  largest  and  heaviest  rocks  he 
couki  handle,  to  protect  it  from  the^'avages  of  wild 
beasts.  When  this  sad  duty  was  completed  he 
returned  with  a  heavy  heart  to  their  temporary 
camp,  and  with  as  much  of  their  luggage  as  he  was 
able  to  cany  started  down  the  mountain.  Arriving 
about  noon  at  the  tent,  he  was  horrifled  to  find  the 
tracks  of  a  large  bear  in  and  about  it,  the  greater 
portion  of  his  supplies  eaten  up  or  destroyed,  and 
his  horses  nowhere  in  sight.  A  hasty  examination 
showed  that  the  bear  had  passed  through  the  little 
park  in  which  they  had  last  been  grazing — evidently 
early  that  morning — that  they  had  taken  flight  and 
fled  in  the  direction  of  the  head  of  the  canon  up 
which  they  had  come.  Westlake  followed  them 
several  miles  until  convinced  that  they  had  really 
started  on  their  back  trail,  and  then  he  returned  to 
camp.  By  this  time  night  was  again  approaching 
and  it  was  with  a  heavy  heart  that  he  prepared  to 
pass  it  there,  all  alone,  and  still  further  depressed 
with  the  thought  that  he  had  now  a  journey  of  a 
hundred  miles  or  more  before  him,  to  the  nearest  set- 
tlement, Avhich  he  must  undoubtedly  make  on  foot. 


256 


CRUISINGS    IN   THE  CASCADES. 


He  ate  Ms  supper  alone  and  in  sadness,  and  as  the 
camp  fire  blazed  in  front  of  his  tent  it  cast  fitful 
shadows  into  the  gloom,  which  was  unbroken  by 
any  sound  save  the  occasional  soughing  of  the  wind 
through  the  j)ine  trees  or  the  cry  of  some  wild  ani- 
mal. He  finally  retired  to  rest,  but  his  sleep  was 
broken  by  troubled  dreams  As  the  sun  arose  he 
prepared  a  hasty  meal,  which  was  eaten  in  silence, 
and  with  a  pair  of  blankets,  a  few  pounds  of  flour, 
salt,  and  coffee,  and  his  ritle,  he  started,  leaving  his 
tent  standing  and  all  else  in  it  as  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  his  friend  and  a  landmark  to  future 
hunters  and  mountaineers  to  locate  the  scene  of  his 
great  misfortune.  He  traveled  seven  days  before 
seeing  the  face  of  a  human  being  or  sleeping  under 
a  shelter  of  any  kind,  when  he  finally  reached  a 
ranch  where  his  horses  had  preceded  him  and  had 
been  corraled  to  await  an  owner. 

It  is  fortunate  that  all  goat  hunters  do  not  meet 
with  such  disasters  as  did  poor  Westlake  and  his 
young  friend,  or  the  noble  sport  would  have  still 
fewer  votaries  than  it  now  has. 


CHAPTER  XXYI. 


TROUTINa  IN  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAIl^S. 

]Sr  SEPTEMBER,  1884,  I  joined  a  party  of 
genial  siDortsmen  at  Fort  Missoula,  Mont., 
for  a  month's  outing  in  the  Bitter  Root 
Mountains.  Our  special  mission  was  to  hunt 
large  game  ;  but  while  perfecting  arrange- 
ments for  the  trip,  which  occupied  two 
days,  and  during  the  mornings  and  evenings 
of  the  several  days  occupied  in  traveling  up 
and  down  the  river  to  and  from  the  hunting 
grounds,  those  of  us  who  had  our  fishing  tackle 
with  us  turned  what  would  otherwise  have  been 
long  Lours  of  impatient  waiting  into  merrily -fleeing 
moments,  by  luring  the  grand  mountain  trout 
{Salmo  purpuratus)  with  which  this  river  abounds 
from  their  crystalline  retreats  and  transferring  them 
to  our  creels  and  our  camp  table. 

The  Bitter  Root  is  a  typical  mountain  stream, 
rising  among  the  snow-clad  peaks  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Big  Hole  basin  and  flowing  with  the  mighty 
rush  imparted  to  it  by  a  fall  of  200  to  300  feet  per 
mile,  fed  by  the  scores  of  ice-cold  brooks  that  tumble 
out  of  the  high  ranges  on  either  side  from  its  source 
to  its  mouth.  After  traversing  a  distance  of  per- 
haps 200  miles,  it  empties  its  pure  waters  into  the 
Hellgate  river,  just  west  of  Missoula. 

17  (257) 


258 


CKUISIJSTGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTUKES.  259 

Its  valley  is  two  to  four  miles  wide,  and  the  lower 
portion  of  this  is  occupied  by  numerous  ranches.  The 
soil  is  tilled  by  Well-to-do  farmers  or  ^'ranchmen," 
to  speak  in  the  vernacular  of  the  country,  so  that 
the  angler,  while  within  a  mile  or  two  of  rugged 
mountain  peaks,  is  still  in  tbe  midst  of  civilization, 
where  his  larder  may  daily  be  replenished  with 
nearly  all  the  varieties  of  good  things  that  grow  on 
any  New  England  farm.  The  banks  of  the  stream 
are  fringed  with  stately  pines  and  cotton  woods,  and 
in  places  with  thickets  <3f  underbrush. 

From  a  tiny  brook  at  its  source  the  stream  grows 
rapidly  to  a  veritable  river  of  thirty  to  fifty  yards 
in  width  as  it  passes  on  toward  its  destination.  It 
sweeps  and  whirls  in  its  course,  here  running 
straight  and  placidly  for  a  hundred  yards,  then 
turning  abruptly  to  right  or  left  and  returning 
almost  parallel  to  itself,  forming  ' '  horse-shoe  bends, ' ' 
''ox-bow  bends,"  compound  S's,  right  angles, 
etc. 

In  many  cases  it  tumbles  down  over  a  long,  steep 
pavement  of  granite  bowlders,  working  itself  into  a 
very  agony  of  bubbles  and  foam,  and  when  the  foot 
of  this  fall  is  reached  it  whirls  and  eddies  in  a  great 
pool  ten  or  twenty  feet  deep  and  covering  half  an 
acre  of  ground,  almost  surrounded  by  high-cut 
banks,  and  seeming  to  have  lost  its  way.  It  event- 
ually finds  an  exit,  however,  through  an  opening  in 
the  willows  and  masses  of  driftwood,  and  again 
speeds  on. 

In  many  of  these  large,  deep  pools  whole  trees,  of 
giant  size,  brought  down  by  the  spring  freshets, 
have    found  lodgment  beyond  the  power  of  the 


260 


CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 


mighty  current  to  drive  tliem  further,  and  under- 
neath these  drifts  the  angler  is  liable  to  hook  a  lusty- 
trout  that  will  make  short  work  of  his  tackle  if  he 
be  not  very  gentle  and  expert  in  manipulating  it. 


SOLID    COMFORT. 


This  river  may  be  fished  from  a  canoe  or  boat,  if 
it  be  manned  by  a  master  of  the  art  of  fresh-water 
cruising;  but  no  amateur  oarsman  or  canoeist  should 


AND   OTHteR  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  261 

ever  attempt  it  or  he  will  surely  come  to  grief.  It 
may  also  be  fished  from  the  bank  or  by  wading; 
and  I  have  even  known  it  to  be  fished  from  the 
hurricane-deck  of  a  cayuse,  so  that  all  lovers  of  the 
gentle  art  may  be  accommodated. 

A  large  bump  of  caution  Would  also  be  a  good 
thing  for  the  man  to  take  along  who  essays  to  wade 
it,  for  he  will  find  places — slippery  places— where 
even  the  wicked  can  not  stand;  for  over  the  surface 
thereof  flows  such  a  mighty  torrent  of  waters  that 
his  pride  will  surely  have  a  fall,  even  if  he  do  not; 
and  if  he  get  out  with  a  dry  thread  on  his  back  he 
will  regard  it  as  a  miracle  and  not  owing  to  any 
skill  or  strength  of  his.  I  think  a  day  on  that 
stream  will  take  the  conceit  out  of  any  living  man 
and  show  him  what  a  poor,  weak  woim  he  is,  if  he 
get  into  some  of  the  places  I  have  been  in.  He  will 
find  himself  in  positions  from  whence  he  would  give 
half  his  worldly  possessions  to  be  delivered;  where 
he  would  forgive  his  bitterest  enemy  the  meanest 
thing  he  ever  did  if  he  were  only  there  and  would 
cast  him  a  friendly  line.  The  bed  of  the  stream  is 
composed  of  glacial  drift,  all  the  rapids  being  paved 
with  bowlders  varying  in  size  from  an  inch  to  two 
or  three  feet  in  diameter.  These  are  worn  smooth 
by  the  action  of  the  water  and  coated  with  a  light 
growtli  of  fungus,  so  that  they  furnish  a  very  pre- 
carious footing  at  best,  and  when  the  power  of 
the  raging  torrent  is  brought  to  bear  against  one's 
nether  limbs,  he  is,  indeed,  fortunate  who  is  not 
swept  into  the  pool  below. 

On  the  rifiles  or  more  placid  portions  of  the  stream 
wading  is  not  attended  with  so  much  danger  or  diffi- 


262 


CRUISI^GS   IN  THE   CASCADES 


culty.  And  while  the  angler  beguiles  the  hours  in 
dalliance  with  these  beauties  of  the  river,  gazing 
into  its  crystalline  depths  and  toying  with  its  poetic 
denizens,  a  glance  to  east  or  west  reveals  to  him 
scenes  of    even  grander  and  more 

loveliness;  for  there,  so 
close  as  to  reveal  their  every  rock 
and  shrub,   tower    the   shapely 
peaks,  the  shattered  crags  and 
beetling  cliffs  which  constitute 
the    Bitter    Root   range    of  M 
mountains.    And  even 
midsummer  the  fresh, 
pure  breezes  sweep 
ing  down  from 


MID  BUSHING  WATERS. 


these  snow-clad  summits  fan  his  parched  brow  and 
render  existence,  under  such  circumstances,  the 
realization  of  a  poet's  dream. 

On  a  bright,  cheery  September  morning,  Private 
Westbrook,  of  the  Third  Infantry,  and  myself  left 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  263 

€amp  as  soon  as  the  sun  had  expelled  the  frost  from 
the  vegetation.  On  the  way  down  we  caught  a  num- 
ber of  grasshoppers — the  orthodox  bait  in  this  region 
— to  fall  back  on  in  case  of  necessity;  for  there  are 
days  when  the  mountain  trout,  as  well  as  his  cousin, 
the  brook  trout  of  the  East,  declines  the  most  seduc- 
tive fly  on  the  bill  of  fare,  and  will  have  nothing  but 
his  favorite  every-day  diet. 

Arriving  at  the  river,  Westbrook  skirmished 
through  the  brush  until  he  found  an  alder  about  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  in  diameter  at  the  ground  and  ten 
or  twelve  feet  high.  This  he  cut,  trimmed  up,  and 
attached  his  line,  a  number  two  Sproat  hook  and  a 
split  shot,  put  on  a  ''hopper,"  and  was  ready  for 
business.  I  remonstrated  gently  with  him  on  the 
heathenish  character  of  his  tackle,  but  he  said,  pleas- 
antly and  politely,  that  it  was  the  kind  that  gener- 
ally got  to  the  front  when  trout-flshing  was  the 
business  in  hand.  He  said  the  fancy  rods  and  reels 
and  flies  were  all  well  enough  for  those  who  wanted 
to  use  them,  but  he  preferred  something  with 
which  he  could  round  up  his  fish  and  corral  them 
without  losing  any  time.  He  said  it  was  all 
right  for  any  gentlemen  to  spend  hall  an  hour 
monkeying  a  trout  after  he  had  hooked  it,  if  he 
wanted  to,  but  for  his  part,  he  never  could  see 
much  fun  in  that  sort  of  fishing.  He  thought  it 
was  decidedly  more  interesting  to  yank  a  fish  in 
out  of  the  wet  the  instant  he  bit,  and  then  lay  for 
another. 

He  walked  boldly  out  into  the  stream,  waded 
down  a  little  way  below  the  ford,  on  a  riffle,  till  he 
reached  a  x)oint  where  the   water  was    about  two 


264  CRuisiNGS  i:^  the  cascades 

feet  deep  and  where  it  rolled  sullenly  and  gloomily 
over  a  series  of  large  bowlders. 

Here  lie  made  a  cast,  and  his  bait  had  barely 
tauched  the  water  when  there  was  a  vicious  rush,  a 
swirl  and  a  dash  downstream,  but  the  cruel  pole 
was  brought  to  bear  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Then  there  was  a  flop,  a  splash,  a  hop,  skip  and  a 
j  ump,  and  a  three-pound  trout  took  a  header  and 
went  down  into  the  soldier  s  haversack. 

The  bait  was  renewed,  another  cast  made,  and  the 
act  was  repeated  on  a  half-pounder.  Then  another 
weighing  one-and-a-half  pounds  and  a  couple  of 
about  a  pound  each  followed  in  rapid  succession, 
when  this  portion  of  the  stream  failed  to  yield,  and 
Westbrook  moved  on  down.  I  followed  along  the 
bank  and  watched  him  for  half  an  hour  before 
attempting  to  rig  my  tackle  at  all.  To  watch  the 
play  of  the  various  emotions  on  his  hard,  brown, 
honest  face;  to  study  the  effect  of  the  intense  enthu- 
siasm which  possessed  him;  to  note  the  utter  disre- 
gard of  personal  safety  and  comfort  with  which  he 
would  plunge  into  the  surging  rapids  and  eddies  up 
to  his  waist,  or  even  to  his  arm-pits,  wherever  he 
thought  he  could  catch  a  trout  by  so  doing,  was  a 
genuine  treat. 

Finally  I  went  back  to  the  ford,  jointed  up  my 
rod,  put  on  a  gray  professor,  and  walking  down  the 
bank  to  a  sudden  bend  in  the  river  where  the  current 
had  cut  a  deep  hole  near  the  bank,  I  made  a  cast. 
The  fly  dropped  on  the  riffle  just  above  the  eddy, 
and  as  it  floated  gracefully  on  the  little  wavelets 
down  and  out  upon  the  bosom  of  the  deep-blue  min- 
iature ocean,  it  turned  hither  and  thither  with  the 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVEJ^TURES.  265 

capricious  currents  that  played  there,  for  perhaps 
five  minutes.  I  was  just  in  the  act  of  reeling  up 
for  another  cast,  when  a  gleam  of  silvery  light 
flashed  upon  my  vision,  flecked  with  settings  of  jet 
and  gold.  There  was  a  mighty  commotion  upon  the 
surface  and  a  monster  trout  leaped  full  into  the  air 
as  he  seized  the  feathered  bait  and  then  shot  down, 
down  into  the  crystal  fluid,  leaving  the  water  in  the 
vicinity  of  his  exploit  bubbling,  effervescing,  and 
sparkling  like  the  rarest  old  champagne.  For  the 
nonce  I  was  paralyzed  with  the  suddenness  and 
viciousness  of  his  coming  and  going,  and  my  reel 
was  singing  merrily  when  I  awoke  to  a  realization 
of  what  it  all  meant. 

Then  I  thumbed  the  cylinder  and  checked  him  in 
his  wild  flight,  but  he  continued  to  fight  his  way 
clear  down  to  the  lower  end  of  the  pool,  a  distance 
of  twenty  yards.  Then  he  turned  and  came  toward 
me  with  the  speed  of  an  arrow,  but  the  automatic 
reel  took  up  the  slack  as  rapidly  as  he  gave  it. 
When  within  twenty  feet  of  me  he  turned  out  into 
the  stream,  and  as  I  checked  him  he  again  vaulted 
into  the  air  and  the  sun-light  glistened  on  his  beauti- 
fully-colored sides  and  fins  as  he  struggled  to  free 
himself.  Finding  tliis  impossible  he  started  for  the 
bank,  where  brush  and  roots  projected  into  the 
water;  but  by  a  vigorous  and  fortunate  sweep  of  the 
rod  I  was  enabled  to  check  him  again.  Again  he 
sounded  and  again  rushed  up,  down,  and  out  into  the 
river,  but  the  steel  was  securely  set,  and  he  was 
compelled  at  last  to  succumb.  Gradually  I  reeled 
him  in,  and  as  I  brought  him  up  to  the  bank  he 
turned  on  his  side  exhausted.     He  weighed  two  and 


AN  ANXIOUS  MOMENT. 
(266) 


Al^D   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  267 

three-quarter  pounds  and  meaisured  seventeen  inches 
in  length. 

I  took  two  others,  nearly  as  large,  out  of  the  same 
hole,  and  then  proceeding  down  lifty  yards,  I  saw 
a  large  cottonwood  tree  lying  in  the  middle  of  the 
stream  w^here  it  had  lodged  and  been  securely 
anchored,  probably  a  year  or  two  before.  The  cur- 
rent had  scooped  out  a  great  cavity  about  its  roots 
and  I  felt  sure  there  must  be  a  giant  old  trout  lying 
amongst  them,  but  I  could  not  reach  it  wdth  a  cast 
from  the  shore.  To  attempt  to  wade  to  it  I  saw 
would  be  hazardous,  for  the  channel  between  me  and 
it  was  waist  deep  and  ran  with  all  the  velocity  of  a 
mill  tail.  But  what  danger  will  not  an  enthusiastic 
angler  brave  when  in  pursuit  of  a  trout?  I  started 
in,  and  when  half  way  to  the  trunk,  would  gladly 
have  retreated,  but  was  actually  afraid  to  attempt 
to  turn  in  the  midst  of  this  current,  so  I  pressed  for- 
ward, finally  reached  the  trunk  of  the  tree  and 
climbed  upon  it.  I  made  a  cast  up  near  the  root 
and  hooked  a  handsome  fellow,  but  after  playing 
him  until  I  had  him  completely  under  control  and 
almost  ready  to  land,  the  hook,  w^hich  had  been  but 
slightly  caught,  tore  out  and  he  drifted  down  the 
river  on  his  side. 

Another  effort  secured  a  two-pounder,  and  failing 
to  get  any  further  encouragement,  I  climbed  into  the 
icy  torrent  and  with  great  difficulty  again  reached 
the  shore. 

A  little  further  down  I  saw  another  very  deep  pool, 
into  which  a  small,  green  cottonwood  tree  had  lately 
fallen  and  hung  by  its  roots  to  the  bank.  I  felt  sure 
of  making  a  good  catch  here,  for  the  hole  was  ten 


268  CRUISINGS   IN   THE  CASCADES 

or  twelve  feet  deep,  *and  the  driftwood  tliat  had 
lodged  about  this  tree  afforded  excellent  cover  for 
the  wary  old  fellows  that  always  seek  such  secluded 
and  impregnable  strongholds.  The  fly  settled  grace- 
fully on  the  surface  at  the  upper  end  of  the  pool,  and 
as  it  floated  listlessly  down  toward  the  drift.  West- 
brook,  who  had  come  down  and  was  fishing  from  the 
bank  opposite,  said: 

''You'll  get  a  good  one  there,  sir.  That's  a 
splendid  hole  for  a  big  old  fellow." 

"  I  think  so;  but  he  seems  backward  about  coming 
forward." 

''Maybe  that  blasted  bird  has  scared  him," 
said  he,  referring  to  a  coot  that  floated  uncon- 
cernedly and  even  impudently  about  the  pool, 
eyeing  us  without  a  symptom  of  fear,  but  evinc- 
ing the  liveliest  curiosity  as  to  who  and  what  we 
were. 

I  reeled  up  and  made  another  cast  farther  out  on 
the  pool.  As  the  fly  fell,  Mrs.  Coot  swam  up  to  it 
as  if  inclined  to  pick  it  up.  I  almost  hoped  she 
would,  for  I  should  really  have  enjoyed  yanking  her 
a  few  times.  But  she  thought  better  gf  it,  and 
turned  away.  After  exhausting  all  my  ingenuity 
on  this  pool,  and  finding  it  impossible  to  induce  a 
rise,  I  laid  down  my  rod,  picked  up  a  rock,  and 
threw  it  at  the  ill-omened  bird,  whom  I  blamed  for 
my  lack  of  success. 

Westbrook  took  his  cue  from  this  and  also  sent  a 
rock  after  her.  Both  made  close  calls  for  her,  but 
she  only  scurried  about  the  livelier,  making  no  effort 
to  get  away.  She,  however,  swam  behind  a  projec- 
tion in  the  bank,  so  that  I  could  not  see  her,  and  I 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  269 

told  Westbrook  to  continue  the  attack  and  drive 
her  out. 

He  picked  up  another  bowlder  as  large  as  a  league 
baseball  and  hurled  it  at  her,  when  the  dullest  and 
most  " thudful' '  sound  I  ever  heard,  accompanied 
by  a  faint  squawk,  came  from  behind  the  bank. 

''  Well,  bleach  my  bones  if  I  haven't  killed  her!" 
said  Westbrook,  as  he  threw  down  his  hat  and 
jumped  on  it. 

Sure  enough,  he  had  made  a  bull's-eye,  and  a  mass 
of  feathers  floated  off  downstream,  followed  by  the 
mortal  remains  of  the  deceased.  And  now  the  trout 
were  jumping  at  these  stray  feathers,  and  returning 
to  the  siege,  we  each  caught  a  good  one  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  pool. 

We  had  now  about  as  many  fish  as  we  cared  to 
carry  to  camp,  and  started  back  up  river.  On  our 
way  we  mec  Lieutenant  Thompson,  of  the  Third 
Infantry — also  a  member  of  our  party — who  had 
left  camp  about  the  same  time  we  did,  and  we 
stopped  and  watched  him  fish  awhile.  The  lieuten- 
ant is  a  veteran  fiy-fisherman,  and  it  is  a  pleasure 
to  see  him  wield  his  graceful  little  split  bamboo  rod, 
and  handle  the  large  vigorous  trout  found  in  this 
stream.  I  had  my  camera  with  me  and  exposed  a 
plate  on  him  in  the  act  of  playing  a  two-pounder 
while  holding  a  string  of  six  others  in  his  left  hand, 
and  though  I  did  not  give  it  quite  enough  time,  it 
turned  out  fairly  well.  He  had  also  filled  his  creel, 
and  on  our  return  to  camp  we  hung  our  total  catch, 
with  several  others  that  General  Marcy  had  taken, 
on  a  pair  of  elk  horns  and  got  a  good  negative  of 
the  whole  outfit. 


270  CKUISINGS  IN   THE  CASCADES 

Trout  grow  to  prodigious  sizes  in  the  Bitter  Root, 
as  well  as  in  several  other  streams  in  Montana, 
Wyoming,  Idaho,  and  Washington  Territory.  The 
Indians  frequently  spear  them  through  the  ice,  or 
take  them  in  nets,  some  of  these  weighing  ten  to 
twelve  pounds  each.  But  these  large  ones  rarely 
rise  to  the  fly.  However,  Colonel  Gibson,  of  the 
U.  S.  A.,  commanding  at  Fort  Missoula,  took  one 
on  a  fly  that  weighed  nine  pounds  and  two  ounces, 
and  other  instances  have  been  recorded  in  which 
they  have  been  taken  by  this  method  nearly  as  large. 
They  have  frequently  been  taken  on  live  bait,  and 
have  been  known  to  attack  a  small  trout  that  had 
been  hooked  on  a  fly,  before  he  could  be  landed. 

While  I  was  hunting  in  the  Bitter  Root  Mount- 
ains in  the  fall  of  '83,  a  carpenter,  who  was  building 
a  bridge  across  the  Bitter  Root,  near  Corvallis,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  fishing  for  trout  with  a  set  hook. 
He  rigged  a  heavy  hook  and  line,  baiting  with  a  live 
minnow,  tied  it  to  a  willow  that  overhung  one  of  the 
deep  pools,  and  left  it  over  night.  By  this  means 
he  secured  three  of  these  monster  trout  in  a  week, 
that  weighed  from  nine  to  eleven  and  a  half  pounds 
each. 

The  supply  of  trout  in  the  Bitter  Root  seems 
to  be  almost  unlimited,  for  it  has  been  fished 
extensively  for  ten  years  past,  and  yet  a  man  may 
catch  twenty -five  to  fifty  pounds  a  day  any  time 
during  the  season,  and  is  almost  sure  to  do  so  if  he 
is  at  all  skillful  or  "lucky."  I  know  a  native 
Bitter  Rooter  who,  during  the  summer  and  fall  of 
'84,  fished  for  the  market,  and  averaged  thirty 
pounds  a  day  all  through  the  season,  which  he  sold 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  271 

in  Missoula  at  twenty-live  cents  a  pound.  Of  course, 
the  majority  of  the  ranchmen  along  the  stream  do 
little  or  no  fishing,  but  the  officers  and  men  at  Fort 
Missoula  do  an  immense  amount  of  it,  as  do  the  res- 
idents  of  the  town  of  Missoula;  and  visiting  sports- 
men from  the  East  take  out  hundreds  of  pounds 
every  season.  But  the  stream  is  so  large  and  long, 
and  its  net- work  of  tributaries  so  vast,  and  furnish 
such  fine  spawning  and  breeding  grounds,  that  it  is 
safe  to  say  there  will  be  trout  here  a  century  hence. 
The  heathen  Chinee  has  never  been  permitted  to 
ply  his  infamous  dynamite  cartridge  here,  or  in  any 
of  the  streams  of  this  vicinity,  as  he  has  long  been 
doing  in  Colorado,  Nevada,  and  elsewhere,  and  this 
fact  alone  would  account  for  the  unimpaired  supply 
in  these  streams. 

The  reproductive  power  of  the  mountain  trout  is 
equal  to  all  the  tax  likely  to  be  levied  against  it 
here  by  legitimate  sportsmen,  and  if  dynamiting 
and  netting  are  prohibited  hereafter  as  heretofore, 
no  fear  need  be  felt  as  to  the  future  supply. 

The  market  fisherman  of  whom  I  si)oke  was  a 
faithful  devotee  to  the  fly,  and  never  would  use  any 
other  lure.  A  white  or  gray  hackle  was  his  favorite. 
He  used  a  stiff,  heavy  i^ole,  however,  about  ten  feet 
long,  cut  from  the  jungles  that  grow  on  the  river  bot- 
tom, and  a  heavy  line,  afoot  shorter,  with  double  gut 
for  attaching  the  fly.  He  fislied  from  the  shore  or 
waded,  as  was  necessary  to  reach  the  best  water. 
He  cast  with  both  hands,  and  the  instant  the  fly 
touched  the  water  he  would  raise  the  tip  so  that 
the  line  would  just  clear,  and  then  traiL  or  skitter 
the  fly  gently,  but  rapidly,  toward  him.     Tlius,  the 


272  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

line  being  taut,  when  the  fish  arose  to  the  fly  he 
would  simply  hook  himself.  Then  he  was  ignomin- 
iously  "yanked,"  and  either  landed  high  and  dry 
on  mother  earth  or  in  the  ranchman's  gunny- 
sack.  • 

Although  devoid  of  sport  and  requiring  little  skill, 
it  was  the  most  effective  method  of  filling  a  ''bag" 
that  I  have  ever  seen  practiced.  I  have  seen  him 
take  ten  to  twenty -five  trout  in  an  hour's  fishing 
and  not  miss  a  single  rise.  I  had  this  man  with  me 
on  a  hunting  trip,  and  whenever  we  came  within 
two  miles  of  a  trout  stream  our  table  was  sure  to  be 
supplied  with  an  abundance  of  fish. 

I  visited  Fort  Maginnis  in  September,  1883,  and 
during  my  stay,  Capt.  F.  H.  Hathaway  kindly 
invited  me  to  spend  a  day  trouting  with  him  on  Big 
Spring  creek,  a  beautiful  stream  that  flows  out  of 
the  Snowy  Mountains  about  twenty-five  miles  from 
the  post.  We  left  the  captain's  quarters  at  noon, 
comfortably  seated  on  his  buckboard,  while  Sam, 
Fishel,  and  Dick  Thomas  rode  their  horses  and  drove 
a  pack-mule,  which  carried  a  part  of  our  i)rovisions, 
the  remainder  being  carried  on  the  buckboard. 

We  covered  the  twenty-five  miles  by  six  o'clock, 
camping  at  the  base  of  the  Snowies,  within  two  miles 
of  the  source  of  the  creek,  which  source  is  a  cluster 
of  large  cold  springs.  We  pitched  our  tent  on  the 
bank  of  the  creek,  where  it  murmured  sweet  music 
in  its  course  over  the  rugged  bottom  and  lulled  us 
into  quiet  and  refreshing  sleep  with  its  rhythmical 
sounds.  When  we  awoke  the  next  morning  the 
foot-hills  all  about  us  glistened  with  frost,  and  the 
high  peaks,  three  or  four  miles  away,  were  draped 


AND   OTIIEK  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  273 

in  a  mantle  of  spotless  white,  which  the  storm-king 
had  sx)read  upon  them  a  few  days  ago. 

Notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  season,  a  few 
musquitoes  began  to  sing  about  our  ears  as  soon  as 
the  sun  came  up.  Fish  el,  who  was  full  of  droll 
good  nature,  observed  them.. 

"  Well,  look  here,"  he  said,  as  he  broke  the  ice  in 
the  water  pail  and  dipped  out  a  basinful  to  wash  in, 
''I'll  be  doggoned  if  here  aint  a  lot  of  these  measley 
musquitoes  buzzing  around  here  with  buffalo  over- 
coats on." 

The  keen  mountain  air  at  this  low  temperature, 
and  the  grand  scenery  with  which  we  were  sur- 
rounded, combined  to  sharxDen  our  appetites,  and 
our  breakfast  beside  a  rousing  camp-fire  was  enjoyed 
as  only  a  meal  can  be  enjoyed  amid  such  surround- 
ings. As  soon  as  the  sun  had  risen  high  enough 
to  banish  the  frost  and  warm  the  air  slightly,  the 
grass  all  about  us  was  set  in  motion  by  thousands 
of  grasshoppers  who  gamboled  x)layfully,  in  order, 
apparently,  to  warm  up  their  benumbed  limbs 
and  get  an  appetite  for  breakfast.  All  hands  then 
turned  out  and  harvested  a  goodly  supply  of  them, 
for  we  had  been  advised  that  the  trout  in  that  stream 
would  not  take  a  liy  so  late  in  the  season. 

Then  we  proceeded  to  business;  the  captain  and 
Dick  fishing  up  the  stream  and  I  down,  while  Sam 
took  his  rifle  and  went  across  the  hills  in  search  of 
game.  The  stream,  where  we  started  in,  was  not 
more  than  three  to  four  feet  wide  and  two  feet  deep 
in  the  deepest  holes,  yet  at  the  first  cast  I  hooked  a 
trout  that  after  a  few  vigorous  i)lunges  took  the 
barb  off  my  hook  and  departed.     I  put  on  a  new 

18 


274  ceuisiinGS  in  the  cascades 

one  and  had  better  luck  next  time,  for  in  another 
hole  a  few  rods  farther  down  I  took  one  that  weighed 
a  pound  and  a  half. 

In  the  meantime  the  captain  shouted  to  me,  and 
looking  up  the  stream  I  saw  him  displaying  one  of 
about  the  same  size.  AVe  each  followed  our  courses- 
and  did  not  meet  again  for  some  hours,  when  the 
captain  came  down  to  see  how  I  was  getting  on.  He 
had  eight  and  I  had  six,  the  average  weight  of 
which  was  over  a  pound  each.  He  relieved  me  of 
my  load  and  returned  to  camp,  and  from  that  time 
on  did  but  little  fishing  himself,  preferring,  in 
the  fullness  of  his  generous  nature,  to  devote  the 
most  of  his  time  to  accompanying  me,  showing 
me  the  most  favorable  iDoints,  exulting  in  my  suc- 
cess, and  in  every  way  possible  promoting  my  com- 
fort. Whenever  he  left  me  for  a  short  time  he  would 
send  one  of  his  men  to  take  my  fish  to  camp,  dress 
them,  and  do  anything  and  everything  else  possible 
for  me. 

I  fished  down  the  creek  nearly  two  miles  during 
the  day,  going  over  parts  of  the  stream  two  or  three 
times,  not  ceasing  from  the  fascinating  spore  long 
enough  to  even  eat  a  lunch  that  I  carried  in  my 
pocket.  Nor  did  I  turn  my  steps  toward  camp  until 
it  became  so  dark  that  the  fish  would  no  longer  rise. . 
Then,  when  I  started  campward,  I  met  Dick  coming- 
with  an  extra  saddle  horse  which  the  captain  had 
kindly  sent  for  me  to  ride. 

After  supper  came  the  always  charming  social 
intercourse  around  the  camp-fire,  the  exchange  of 
personal  notes  of  the  day's  sport — the  experience 
meeting,  so  to  speak.     No  one  had  misgivings  to 


AND   OTHER  HUNTINCi  ADVENTURES.  275 

record  so  far  as  the  fi shing  was  concerned.  Each  had 
enjoyed  his  full  measure  of  the  grand  sport,  as  was 
evidenced  by  the  display  of  the  several  strings  of 
salmon-colored  beauties  which  hung  around  the 
camp-fire.  There  was  not  a  fingerling  in  the  entire 
catch.  No  one  had  caught  a  trout  during  the  day 
of  less  than  four  ounces  in  weight,  and  very  few  of 
that  size  had  been  taken.  The  majority  of  them 
ranged  between  half  a  pound  and  two  pounds,  and 
the  numbers  were  only  limited  by  the  amount  of 
work  each  had  done.  My  friends,  being  residents 
and  accustomed  to  this  kind  of  sport  whenever 
they  choose  to  enjoy  it,  had  not  cared  to  fish  all 
day,  and  consequently  had  not  taken  so  many  as  I, 
but  had  taken  all  they  wanted. 

The  only  man  in  the  party  who  had  anything  to 
regret  in  the  day's  experience  was  Sam.  He  had 
started  a  large  bull  elk  early  in  the  morning  and 
had  followed  him  several  miles,  but  had  not  been 
able  to  get  a  favorable  shot,  though  he  had  twice 
caught  sight  of  him.  We  all  sympathized  deeply 
with  him  in  his  misfortune,  for  Sam  is  an  expert 
shot  with  the  rifle,  and  if  he  had  ever  drawn  a  bead 
on  the  game  we  should  have  had  elk  steak  on  our 
table  at  the  next  meal,  sure. 

We  broke  camp  early  the  next  morning  and  pre- 
parea  to  start  for  home,  but  decided  to  fish  down 
the  creek  till  near  noon  before  leaving  it.  We  drove 
down  about  a  mile,  when  I  alighted  and  started  in, 
the  others  distributing  themselves  at  other  points 
along  the  stream.  The  trout  rose  as  rapidly  and 
gamily  as  on  the  previous  day,  and  I  soon  had  a 
load  in  my  creel  that  pulled  down  uncomfortably. 


276  CRUISI]S^GS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

Among  them  was  one  old  nine-spot  which  turned  the 
scales  at  two  and  a  quarter  pounds  after  having  been 
out  of  the  water  over  two  hours.  He  measured 
seventeen  and  a  half  inches  in  length. 

The  captain  told  me  of  a  certain  deep  hole  where 
he  said  an  old  pioneer  made  his  headquarters,  who 
had  taken  off  two  hooks  and  leaders  for  him  on  two 
different  days  during  the  summer.  When  I  reached 
the  hole  I  recognized  it  in  a  moment  by  the  captain's 
description.  It  was  in  a  short  bend  or  angle  of  the 
creek.  On  the  opposite  side  from  where  I  stood,  and 
on  the  lower  angle  of  the  square,  the  channel  had 
cut  a  deep  hole  under  an  overhanging  bank,  which 
was  covered  with  willows.  These  drooped  over  the 
water  and  shaded  it  nicely.  There  was  a  slight 
eddy  there  and  the  surface  of  the  water  was  flecked 
with  bits  of  white  foam  which  came  from  the  rapids 
just  above.     What  a  paradise  for  a  wary  old  trout ! 

I  stopped  about  forty  feet  above  the  hole  and  put 
on  one  of  the  largest  hoppers  in  my  box;  then  I 
reeled  out  ten  or  fifteen  feet  of  line  and  cast  into 
the  foot  of  the  rapid.  As  the  current  straightened 
out  my  line  I  reeled  off  more  of  it  and  still  more  until 
it  floated  gently  and  gracefully  down  into  the  dark 
eddy,  and  when  within  two  feet  of  the  edge  of  the 
bank  there  was  a  whirl,  a  surge,  a  break  in  the 
water,  as  if  a  full-grown  beaver  had  been  suddenly 
frightened  from  his  sun  bath  on  the  surface  and  had 
started  for  the  bottom.  I  saw  a  long,  broad  gleam 
of  silvery  white,  my  line  cut  through  the  water,  and 
the  old-timer  started  for  his  bed  under  the  bank. 

I  struck  at  the  proper  instant,  and,  bending  my 
little   split  bamboo    almost    double,    brought  him 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  277 

up  with  a  short  turn.  He  darted  up  the  stream  a 
few  feet,  and  again  turning  square  about  started  for 
his  den.  I  snubbed  him  again.  This  time  he  shot 
down  the  creek,  and,  turning,  made  another  dive 
for  his  hiding  place.  Again  I  gave  him  the  butt, 
but  this  time  he  was  determined  to  free  himself, 
and  with  a  frantic  plunge  he  tore  the  hook  from  his 
mouth  and  disappeared  in  his  dark  retreat. 

My  heart  sank  within  me,  when  I  realized  that 
he  was  gone.  He  was  truly  a  monster,  fully  two 
feet  long,  and  I  think  would  have  weighed  four 
pounds  or  over.  I  reeled  up  and  made  two  or  three 
more  casts  in  the  same  hole.  His  mate,  a  comely- 
looking  fellow,  but  not  nearly  so  large,  came  out 
once  and  smelt  of  the  bait  but  declined  to  take  it. 
He  had  evidently  seen  enough  to  convince  him  that 
it  was  not  the  kind  of  a  dinner  he  was  looking 
for.  I  fished  down  the  creek  for  an  hour  and  then 
returned  and  tried  the  old  fellow  again,  but  he  had 
not  yet  forgotten  his-  recent  set-to  with  me,  and 
refused  to  come  out.  I  presume  he  is  still  there, 
and  will  probably  reign  for  some  years  to  come, 
the  terror  of  tackle  owners,  unless  someone  gets 
a  hook  firmly  fastened  in  his  jaw,  and  has  tackle 
sufficiently  derrick-like  to  land  him;  and  whoever 
that  lucky  individual  may  be,  I  congratulate  him  in 
advance.  My  tackle  would  have  held  him  if  I  had 
been  fortunate  enough  to  get  the  proper  cinch  on 
him,  and  the  only  thing  I  have  to  regret  in  think- 
ing of  the  trip,  is  that  I  was  not  so  fortunate. 

We  had  enough,  however,  without  him.  We  took 
home  forty-eight  trout  that  weighed,  when  dressed, 
sixty  pounds,  and  of  all  the  many  days  I  have  spent 


278  CRUISINGS   IN.  THE  CASCADES 

fishing  in  the  manj^  years  long  gone,  I  never  enjo3^ed 
any  more  intensely,  never  had  grander  sx)ort  than  in 
these  two  days  on  Big  Spring  creek. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  mountain  trout  lacks 
the  game  qualities  of  our  Eastern  brook  trout.  I 
have  not  found  it  so.  They  are  quite  as  gamy,  as 
vicious  in  their  fighting,  and  as  destructive  to  fine 
tackle  as  the  brook  trout,  the  only  perceptible  dif- 
ference being  that  they  do  not  fight  so  long.  They 
yield,  however,  only  after  a  stubborn  resistance, 
sufficiently  prolonged  to  challenge  the  admiration 
of  any  angler.  I  have  caught  a  number  of  two  and 
three  pounders  that  requh^ed  very  careful  and 
patient  handling  for  twenty  to  thirty  minutes 
before  they  could  be  brought  to  the  landing  net. 

There  are  various  other  streams  along  the  line  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  which  afford  almost 
equally  as  fine  sport  as  the  Bitter  Root,  and  some 
of  them  that  are  even  more  picturesque  and  beauti- 
ful. In  fact,  nearly  every  stream  reached  by  the 
road,  between  Billings  and  Puget  Sound,  teems  with 
these  graceful  beauties.  By  leaving  the  road  at 
almost  any  point  on  the  Rocky  Mountain  or  Pend 
d'Orielle  Divisions  and  pushing  back  into  the 
mountains  twenty  to  one  hundred  miles,  the  enter- 
prising angler  may  find  streams  whose  banks  have 
seldom  been  profaned  by  the  foot  of  a  white  man; 
where  an  artificial  fly  has  seldom  or  never  fallen 
upon  the  sparkling  blue  waters,  and  yet  where  mill- 
ions of  these  beautiful  creatures  swarm,  ready  to 
rush  upon  anything  that  reaches  the  surface  of 
their  element  bearing  the  least  resemblance  to  their 
natural  food,   with  all  the  fearless  enthusiasm  of 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


279 


untainted  and  unrestrained  nature.  In  these  wilder 
regions  the  tourist  will  also  find  frequent  use  for  his 
Title,  for  elk,  bear,  deer,  mountain  sheep,  and  other 
large  game  may  yet  be  found  in  reasonable  quan- 
tities in  all  such  undisturbed  fastnesses. 


cg:W' 


'^4u 


'""^LL,. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


DEER    HU]^TI:N^G    IN    WISCONSIN. 

ia)RTHERN  WISCONSIN  is  one  vast  and 
i|!  -  almost  unbroken  deer  range.  It  is  pen- 
etrated by  several  railroads,  along  the 
-  immediate  lines  of  which  are  a  few  small 
i-^rms  and  some  fair-sized  towns  and  villages; 
but  on  going  a  few  miles  back  from  these 
roads,  in  almost  any  direction,  one  passes 
the  confines  of  civilization  and  enters  a 
wilderness  that  is  broken  only  by  the  nu- 
merous logging  camps,  and  these  as  a  rule 
are  occupied  only  in  winter.  Thousands  of  acres 
of  these  pine  lands  have  been  chopped  over, 
and  the  old  slashings,  having  grown  up  to  brush, 
brambles,  and  briars  of  various  kinds,  furnish 
excellent  cover  and  feeding  grounds  for  Cervus 
Virgi,nianus. 

True,  it  is  difficult  to  see  the  game  at  any  great 
distance  in  these  thickets,  unless  the  hunter  take  his 
stand  on  a  high  stump  or  log  and  wait  until  the  deer 
come  in  sight.  This  is  a  favorite  and  very  successful 
method  of  hunting  with  many  who  know  how  to 
choose  location  and  time  of  day.  But  adjacent  to 
these  slashings  are  usually  large  tracts  of  open 
w^oods,  frequently  hardwood  ridges,  through  which 

(280) 


A2^D   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  281 

the  game  passes  at  intervals  while  moving  from  one 
feeding  ground  to  another.  In  such  localities  a  deer 
may  be  seen  at  a  considerable  distance,  and  shots 
are  often  taken  at  150  to  200  yards. 

I  remember  one  of  my  first  trips  to  these  hunting 
grounds,  many  years  ago,  before  I  knew  how  to 
sneak  on  the  game,  and  before  I  had  gained  sufficient 
control  of  my  nerves  to  be  able  to  stop  a  deer  while 
vaulting  over  a  fallen  tree  trunk,  turning  suddenly 
from  left  to  right  and  vice  versa,  as  a  v/ary  old  buck 
will  frequently  do  when  fleeing  from  a  hunter.  I 
stopped  at  a  hotel  in  Merrill,  on  the  Wisconsin 
Valley  Division  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St. 
Paul  Railway,  and,  having  learned  something  of 
the  nature  of  the  surrounding  country  by  a  hasty 
tramp  in  the  afternoon,  I  got  up  the  next  morning 
and  started  at  four  o'clock  to  what  seemed  to  be  a 
favorable  piece  of  ground.  By  daylight  I  was  on 
the  margin  of  a  large  slash  that,  since  being  chopped 
off,  had  burned  over  and  then  grown  up  to  brush 
and  weeds.  There  were  many  blackened  trunks  of 
trees  lying  everywhere,  and  some  still  standing  that 
had  been  scorched  and  roasted  in  the  great  conflagra- 
tion that  had  swept  over  the  country,  but  had  not 
been  entirely  consumed.  These  latter,  stripped  of 
bark  and  limbs,  looked  like  gloomy  monuments 
placed  there  to  mark  the  resting  places  of  their 
hapless  fellows,  and  the  whole  aspect  of  the  land- 
scape in  the  gray  of  dawn  was  weird  and  chilly  in 
the  extreme.  There  was  scarcely  a  breath  of  air 
stirring,  and  by  listening  intently  I  could  hear  the 
rustling  of  dry  leaves  and  the  occasional  snapping 
of  twigs  in  various  directions,  that  indicated  the 


^82  CRUISINGS  IN  THE   CASCADES 

near  presence  of  the  game  and  set  my  blood  tingling 
and  my  nerves  twitching. 

So  soon  as  there  was  sufficient  light  to  show  the 
front  sight  of  my  rifle  against  a  gray  stump  fifty 
yards  away,  I  started  to  move,  as  cautiously  as  I 
knew  how,  toward  a  clump  of  wild-cherry  bushes 
that  I  had  seen  moving  and  from  which  came  slight 
but  suspicious  sounds.  When  within  thirty  yards 
of  it  I  stepped  on  a  stick  that  snapped,  and  simul- 
taneously with  the  sound  a  monster  buck  leaped 
high  in  the  air,  and  landing  twenty  feet  away, 
uttered  a  shrill  whistle  and  stopped,  with  his  head 
thrown  up,  to  try  and  locate  the  danger.  I  brought 
my  rifle  to  my  shoukler  with  a  convulsive  jerk, 
pointed  it  at  him  and  fired  without  thinking  of  the 
sights,  and  of  course  scored  an  ignominious  miss. 

Well,  I  wish  every  friend  I  have  on  earth  could 
have  been  there  at  that  moment.  That  whole  tract 
of  country,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  seemed  alive  with 
deer.  Thrash!  Crash!  Bumpety-bump!  Phew! 
Phew! 

There  was  jumping,  thrashing  through  the  brush, 
whistling,  flipping  and  flapx)ing  of  white  flags,  and 
the  air  seemed  full  of  glistening  gray  coats.  The 
buck  I  had  shot  at  sailed  away,  and  was  soon  fol- 
lowed in  his  flight  by  a  doe  and  two  fawns.  A  doe 
and  fawn  went  in  another  direction,  three  fawns 
in  another,  two  does  and  a  buck  in  another,  and  so 
on  ad  infinitum. 

I  stood  there;  like  a  mile-post  by  the  roadside, 
until  they  had  all  vanished,  forgetting  that  I  had 
other  cartridges  in  my  belt.  Finally  I  recovered 
consciousness  and  began  to  wonder  where  some  of 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  283 

those  deer  would  stop.  If  I  could  only  get  another 
chance  such  as  I  had  on  that  buck,  wouldn't  I  down 
him  in  fine  style?  I  would  plant  a  bullet  in  the 
center  of  his  shoulder  next  time  sure.  No  dime- 
novel  scout  was  ever  more  unerring  in  his  aim  than 
I  would  be  if  I  could  only  get  another  aim.  I 
started  on  toward  the  top  of  a  ridge,  over  which  one 
of  the  large  bucks  had  disappeared,  and  on  reaching 
it  I  saw  him,  or  some  other  one,  just  behind  an  oak 
grub  on  the  opposite  side-hill.  I  raised  my  rifle  and 
took  careful  aim  this  time,  but  was  so  nervous  that 
I  could  not  hold  the  bead  on  him,  and  when  I  pulled 
he  made  another  series  of  those  daring  leaps  that 
soon  carried  him  out  of  sight.  I  fired  a  second  shot 
at  him  as  he  went,  but  with  no  better  result  than 
the  first. 

I  now  crossed  over  to  the  farther  edge  of  the  slash, 
and,  seeing  no  more  game,  started  through  a  body  of 
large  pines  to  an  old  burn  that  I  had  been  told  lay 
a  mile  to  the  east.  I  was  walking  hurriedly  through 
this  green  timber,  not  expecting  to  see  game,  and 
stepped  upon  a  large  log,  when  a  doe  and  two  fawns, 
that  had  been  lying  down  in  the  top  of  a  fallen  tree, 
jumped  and  ran  across  in  front  of  me,  offering  an 
excellent  opportunity  for  a  good  shot  to  have  killed 
all  three  of  them.  I  slung  lead  after  them  at  a  lively 
rate,  firing  ^ve  or  six  shots  before  they  got  out  of 
sight,  but  did  no  farther  harm  than  to  accidentally 
clip  an  ear  off  one  of  the  fawns  close  down  to  its 
head. 

After  they  were  gone  I  went  and  picked  up  this 
trophy  and  stopped  to  meditate  on  my  ill-luck,  or 
want  of  skill.     I  then  remembered  that  though  I  had 


284  CKUISINGS   IX   THE   CASCADES 

striven  to  hold  the  front  sight  on  one  or  the  other 
of  the  deer  at  each  shot  after  the  first,  I  had  entirely 
forgotten  to  look  through  the  notch  in  the  rear 
sight.  Chagrined  and  mortified  beyond  all  power 
to  describe,  I  trudged  along  and  finally  reached  the 
burn  I  was  in  search  of.  The  sun  was  now  high 
in  the  heavens  and  shining  brightly,  so  that  the 
game  was  no  longer  on  foot,  but  had  sought  the 
seclusion  of  various  bits  of  dense  cover  and  lain 
down.  My  only  chance  for  a  shot  was,  therefore,  in 
walking  them  up,  which  I  proceeded  to  do.  The 
brash  was  dense  all  over  this  burn,  so  that  I  could 
rarely  see  twenty  yards  in  any  direction,  yet  I  hox)ed 
against  hope  for  another  chance.  I  was  desperate 
over  the  disgraceful  failures  I  had  made,  and  yet  I 
knew  I  could  shoot.  I  had  killed  quantities  of  small 
game  with  the  same  rifle  I  was  then  using  and  had 
killed  one  deer  years  ago  with  an  old  muzzle  loader. 
I  could  always  depend  upon  making  a  good  fair 
score  at  the  target  at  200  yards,  or  even  longer 
ranges,  and  yet  I  had  shot  away  a  dozen  cartridges 
this  morning  at  deer,  some  of  which  were  standing 
vyrithin  a  few  yards  of  me,  and  had  not  stopped  one 
of  them.  I  was  furious,  and  determined  that  the 
next  shot  should  tell. 

I  walked  down  an  old  logging-road  several  hundred 
yards,  hoping  that  some  belated  traveler  might  be 
found  crossing  or  walking  iu  it,  but,  failing  in  this, 
I  turned  out  and  walked  along  the  crest  of  a  ridge, 
looking  down  both  sides  of  it.  Struggling  through 
briers  and  brush,  making  a  good  deal  of  noise,  una- 
voidably, I  still  failed  to  jump  a  deer  until  I  left 
the  ridge  and  started  tow^ard  a  ' '  draw ' '  in  which 


AND    OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  285 

was  a  small  meadow  or  slough.  When  half  way 
down  the  hill  I  came  to  a  large  stump,  about  four 
feet  high,  from  which  a  tree  had  been  cut  when  the 
snow  was  deep.  I  climbed  ui)on  this  to  take  a  look 
at  the  surrounding  country.  As  I  did  so,  a  large 
buck  that  had  been  been  lying  just  below  it,  sprang 
from  his  bed  and  bounded  away  through  the  brush, 
showing  here  and  there  a  flash  of  bis  white  flag  and 
a  gleam  of  his  majestic  antlers,  but  not  enough  of 
his  body  to  shoot  at.  I  was  perfectly  cool  now.  My 
nervousness  had  all  disappeared.  In  short,  I  was 
mad.  I  stood  watching  his  course  and  awaiting 
developments  with  all  the  confidence  and  coolness 
of  a  veteran,  instead  of  the  novice  I  really  was.  He 
ran  down  the  long  hill,  across  the  swale,  and  up  the 
hill  on  the  opx)osite  side,  and,  on  reaching  the  top  of 
it  and  coming  out  upon  open  ground,  turned  broad- 
side and  stopped  to  look  at  me,  doubtless  deeming 
himself  perfectly  safe  at  that  great  distance.  Stand- 
ing erect  on  that  high  stump  I  was  clegtr  above  the 
surrounding  underbrush  and  had  a  fine  view  of  the 
magnificent  quarry.  His  head  was  thrown  high  up 
and  well  back;  his  ears  erect,  nostrils  distended,  and 
even  at  that  distance  I  imagined  I  could  see  the 
defiant  gleam  of  his  jet  black  eye.  His  glossy  coat 
glistened  in  the  brilliant  autumn  sunlight,  and  his 
si)reading  antlers  and  powerful  muscular  develop- 
ment characterized  him  as  a  giant  among  his  kind. 
As  I  raised  my  rifle  slowly  to  my  shoulder,  I  felt 
that  at  last  I  had  perfect  control  of  my  nerves  and 
that  I  was  in  some  measure  to  redeem  myself  from 
the  ignominy  of  past  failures.  I  had  elevated  my 
rear  sight  for  250  yards,  and  as  I  looked  through 


286  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

the  delicate  notcli  in  it  and  saw  the  little  golden 
front  bead  glimmer  on  the  buck's  shoulder,  the  muz- 
zle of  the  rifle  was  as  steady  and  immovable  as  if 
screwed  in  a  vice.  There  was  no  tremor,  no  vibra- 
tion now;  and  holding  well  up  to  the  spine  and 
showing  the  full  size  of  the  bead,  to  allow  for  the 
distance,  I  pressed  the  trigger. 

At  the  report  the  deer  bounded  into  the  air  as  if 
a  dynamite  cartridge  had  exploded  under  him,  and, 
lowering  his  head  to  a  line  with  his  body,  started 
to  run.  There  was  none  of  those  lofty,  airy  leaps 
now,  no  defiant  waving  to  and  fro  of  the  white  flag. 
That  emblem  was  closely  furled.  His  pride  was 
broken  and  his  sole  object  in  life  seemed  to  be  to  get 
out  of  the  country  as  soon  as  possible.  The  course 
he  had  taken  lay  along  the  top  of  the  ridge  and  I 
had  a  flne  view  of  the  run  from  start  to  finish.  He 
at  once  began  to  waver  in  his  course,  turning  slightly 
from  left  to  right  and  from  right  to  left.  He 
stumbled  an,d  staggered  like  a  blind  horse.  He  ran 
crashing  and  smashing  into  the  dead  top  of  a  fallen 
tree,  breaking  the  dry  limbs,  some  of  them  three  or 
four  inches  in  diameter,  as  if  they  had  been  rye 
straws.  When  he  had  gone  as  far  into  this  labyrinth 
of  branches  as  he  could  get,  he  sank  to  the  ground 
as  if  exhausted,  but  suddenly  rose  again,  extricated 
himself  by  a  few  desiderate  struggles  to  the  right, 
and  sped  on.  He  ran  squarely  against  a  good-sized 
sapling  with  such  force  as  to  throw  him  prostrate 
upon  his  side.  Still,  his  great  vitality  was  not  spent, 
and,  struggling  to  his  feet,  he  dashed  on  again. 
Next  he  ran  against  a  log  that  lay  up  from  the 
ground  some  three  feet  and  Avas  set  back  upon  his 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  287 

haunches.  He  quickly  recovered,  took  it  in  good 
shape,  and  now  dashed  into  a  chimp  of  oak  grubs 
that  still  held  their  dry  leaves.  Tearing  and  forcing 
his  way  through  these,  lie  forged  ahead  with  all  his 
remaining  strength  and  plunged  headlong  into 
another  fallen  tree-top.  In  this  he  straggled,  trying 
to  force  his  way  out  until  he  sank  upon  the  ground 
from  sheer  loss  of  blood  and  expired.  From  where 
he  stood  when  I  shot,  to  where  he  finally  fell  was 
about  300  yards. 

I  stepped  the  distance  from  where  I  stood  to  where 
the  deer  was  when  I  fired  and  found  it  to  be  267 
yards.  Taking  up  his  trail,  I  found  the  ground 
copiously  sprinkled  with  blood  where  he  came  down 
at  the  end  of  his  first  jump,  and  the  leaves  and  brush 
were  crimsoned  with  it  from  there  to  where  he  gave 
up  the  struggle.  On  coming  up  to  him  I  found 
that  my  bullet  had  drifted  slightly  to  the  left,  owing 
to  the  force  of  a  strong  wind  which  was  blowing  at 
the  time,  and  cut  his  throat  almost  as  neatly  as  I 
could  have  done  it  with  my  hunting-knife.  The 
oesophagus  was  entirely  severed  and  the  thorax 
nearly  so.  His  body  was  sadly  bruised  and  lacer- 
ated by  the  terrible  ordeal  through  which  he  had 
passed,  and  I  concluded  that  he  must  have  gone 
stone  blind  when  the  bullet  struck  him.  In  no 
other  way  can  I  account  for  his  strange  conduct.  I 
saved  his  head  and  had  it  mounted  as  a  memento 
of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  scratch  shots  I  ever 
made. 


CEAPTEE  XXYIII. 


THSEE    OF    A    KIND. 

.ARLY  autumn's  frosts  had  tinged  the 
foliage  of  the  birch,  maple,  oak,  and  elm 
trees,  that  intermingle  in  the  great 
pine  forests,  with  a  thousand  rich 
colors  and  shades  of  gold,  brown,  olive, 
pink,  and  crimson,  while  the  pines,  the 
hemlocks,  the  firs,  and  the  cedars  still 
wore  their  dark  mantels  of  perennial  green, 
and  all  Nature  was  clad  in  her  sweetest  smiles. 
A  solitary  woodpecker,  perched  on  the  topmost 
branch  of  a  dead  giant  of  the  forest,  reaching  out 
far  above  the  surrounding  network  of  leafy  branches, 
from  which  he  might  survey  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, sounded  his  morning  reveille  and  awaited  the 
coming  of  his  mate.  The  dry  leaves  with  which 
mother  earth  was  carpeted,  rustled  now  and  again 
to  the  bound  of  the  saucy  red  squirrel,  the  darting 
hither  and  thither  of  the  shy  wood-mouse,  or  the 
tread  of  the  stupid,  half-witted  porcupine.  The 
chill  October  wind  soughed  through  the  swaying 
tree-tops,  laden  with  the  rich  ozone  that  gives  life,- 
health,  and  happiness  to  all  animate  beings  that  are 
permitted  to  inhale  it. 

On  such  a  morning,  and  amid  such  a  scene  of 
natural  loveliness,  I  left  the  train  at  Junction  City, 

(288) 


AND    OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  289 

on  the  Wisconsin  Central  Railway,  started  on  a 
three-mile  jaunt  to  a  logging  camp,  for  a  day  or  two 
on  a  deer  roundup.  I  reached  my  destination  at  nine 
o'  clock.  The  men  had  long  since  gone  to  their  work, 
but  the  '*boss"  had  returned  to  camp  to  attend  to 
some  business  in  hand,  and,  welcoming  me  with  the 
generous  hospitality  that  is  always  shown  by  these 
sturdy  sons  of  the  forest  to  strangers,  bade  me  make 
myself  at  home  as  long  as  I  cared  to  stay.  To  my 
inquiry  as  to  the  presence  of  game  in  the  vicinity, 
he  said  there  was  plenty  of  it,  and  that  the  men  saw 
one  or  more  deer  nearly  every  day  while  going  to 
or  returning  from  their  work,  which  was  only  a 
mile  away. 

I  lost  no  time  in  getting  out  and  entering  an  old 
slashing  to  the  east  of  the  camp  where  the  foreman 
said  signs  were  plentiful.  I  had  not  gone  more 
than  half  a  mile,  when,  turning  to  the  left,  on  an 
old  logging  road,  I  saw  several  fresh  tracks  of  deer 
that  had  been  feeding  there  that  morning.  It  was 
now  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and  I  had  no 
hope  of  finding  the  game  on  foot  at  that  late  hour, 
but  depended  entirely  upon  jumping  a  deer  from  its 
bed  and  upon  having  to  risk,  in  all  probability,  a 
running  shot.  I  moved  very  cautiously,  however, 
and  was  on  the  qui  vive  for  any  straggler  that 
might  perchance  be  moving.  Every  foot  of  ground 
that  came  within  the  scope  of  my  vision  was  care- 
fully scanned  and  every  sound  or  movement  of  leaf 
or  shrub,  no  matter  how  slight,  received  the  most 
careful  attention,  during  long  and  frequent  pauses, 
before  proceeding  on  my  way. 

I  followed  the  road  through  various  turns,  along 

19 


290  CRUISIT^GS   IN   THE   CASCADES 

the  bed  of  a  slight  ravine,  and  as  I  rounded  one  of 
its  abrupt  bends  that  gave  me  a  view  of  a  consider- 
able expanse  of  hill-side,  I  stopped  again  to  recon- 
noitre. The  ground  was  covered  with  a  dense  growth 
of  weeds,  raspberry  briers,  and  wild-cherry  bushes, 
that  had  sprung  up  since  the  timber  had  been 
cut  off,  all  of  which  had  been  stricken  by 
recent  frosts,  and  dried  by  subsequent  sun  and 
wind.  In  these  dry  weeds  I  saw  a  slight  movement, 
and  on  careful  examination  was  able  to  distinguish 
a  faint  outline  of  a  doe,  standing  partially  behind  a 
large  stumj),  a  hundred  yards  away.  Her  head  and 
shoulders  were  entirely  hidden  by  the  stump,  and 
I  had  to  stej)  back  some  distance  before  I  could  get 
sight  of  a  vital  part  to  shoot  at.  As  her  shoulder 
came  in  view  I  knelt  on  my  right  knee,  rested  my 
left  elbow  on  my  left  knee,  and,  drawing  a  fine  bead 
on  her  shoulder,  fired.  She  dropped  in  her  tracks. 
My  aim  was  a  little  higher  than  I  intended,  and  the 
bullet,  passing  through  her  shoulder  blades  high 
up,  severed  the  spine  between  them  on  its  way, 
killing  her  as  suddenly  as  if  it  had  entered  the 
brain.  At  the  report  of  the  rifle  a  young  buck 
bounded  out  of  the  brush  near  by  and  waved  me  a 
vaunting  farewell  as  he  disappeared  over  the  ridge, 
not  giving  me  even  a  fair  running  shot.  I  dressed 
the  doe  and  went  back  to  camp  for  dinner,  the 
welcome  notes  of  the  huge  old  tin  horn,  floating 
in  musical  cadence  through  the  forest,  summoning 
me  at  that  moment  to  that  much  needed  repast. 

After  dinner  I  went  out  on  another  old  unused 
logging  road,  leading  to  the  south,  and,  following  it 
a  few  hundred  yards,  branched  off  to  another  which 


AND    OTHER  HUNTIJN^a   ADVENTURES.  291 

led  to  the  southwest.  A  number  of  fallen  trees, 
lying  across  these,  gave  me  frequent  opportunities 
to  mount  their  prostrate  trunks  and  look  over  large 
tracts  of  surrounding  country.  In  thus  sauntering 
and  looking  I  had  spent  an  hour  or  more  when, 
on  passing  an  unusually  dense  clump  of  tall  dry  weeds 
that  stood  near  the  road,  I  was  startled  by  a  sudden 
crashing  and  rattling  among  them,  and  an  instant 
later  two  large  does  broke  cover  at  the  farther  side 
and  started  across  a  narrow  open  space.  But  before 
they  readied  the  farther  side  of  it  the  voice  of  my 
Winchester  express  was  reverberating  among  the 
lofty  pines,  and  a  cloud  of  smoke  hung  between  me 
and  where  I  had  last  seen  them.  I  sprang  to  one  side 
to  avoid  this,  but  they  had  both  disappeared  in  the 
thicket,  and  I  could  still  hear  one  of  them  crash- 
ing away  toward  the  green  woods.  I  felt  sure  that 
I  had  hit  the  other,  and,  going  to  where  I  had  last 
seen  her,  I  found  blood,  hair,  and  several  small  bits 
of  flesh  on  the  ground  and  the  neighboring  weeds. 
Following  the  trail  a  distance  of  fifty  feet,  I  found 
her  lying  dead  with  her  throat  cut,  and,  in  fact,  a 
considerable  portion  of  it  shot  away.  The  express 
bullet,  driven  by  a  heavy  charge  of  powder,  has 
such  a  high  velocity  that  when  it  strikes  flesh  it 
invariably  makes  a  big  hole  in  it.  One  hind  leg  was 
also  broken  squarely  ofl"  at  the  knee  and  the  bone 
protruded  through  the  skin. 

I  stood  pondering  and  puzzling  over  this  strange 
phenomenon.  How  in  the  name  of  wonder  could 
one  bullet  break  her  hind  leg  and  cut  her  throats 
I  stooped  down  and  examined  the  wound.  To  my 
surprise,  I  found  that  it  had  not  been  made  with  a 


292  CRUisiNGS  m  the  cascades 

bullet  at  all.  The  joint  was  dislocated  and  the  skin 
torn  away  until  the  disjointed  member  hung  only 
by  a  narrow  segment.  Then  the  mystery  was 
deeper  than  ever.  What  could  possibly  have  caused 
this  violent  and  terrible  wound?  It  had  been  made 
after  I  shot,  for  at  that  time  the  agile  creature  was 
bounding  over  logs  and  through  clumps  of  brush 
with  all  the  grace  and  airiness  of  her  sylph-like 
nature.  I  turned,  took  up  her  back  track,  and, 
following  it  thirty  or  forty  feet,  came  to  a  fallen 
tamarack  sapling  about  six  inches  in  diameter,  that 
laid  up  about  a  foot  from  the  ground.  The  track 
showed  that  the  poor  creature,  in  one  of  her  frantic 
leaps,  just  after  being  hit,  came  down  with  her  fore 
feet  on  one  side  of  this  pole  and  her  hind  feet  on  the 
other;  that  one  hind  foot  had  slipped  on  the  soft 
earth  and  slid  under  the  pole  to  her  knee,  and  that 
the  next  bound  had  brought  it  up  against  the  pole 
in  the  form  of  a  lever — much  as  a  logger  would  place 
his  handspike  under  it  in  attempting  to  throw  it  out 
of  his  way — and  the  i^ole,  being  far  too  long  and 
heavy  to  yield  to  her  strength,  the  leg  had  been 
snapped  short  off. 

I  describe  this  incident  merely  as  one  of  the  many 
strange  and  mysterious  ones  that  come  under  the 
observation  of  woodsmen,  and  not  with  any  desire  to 
give  pain  to  sensitive  and  sympathetic  readers. 

The  beautiful  animal  did  not  suffer  long  from  this 
hurt,  however,  for  she  was  dead  when  I  reached  her, 
within  perhaps  three  or  four  minutes  after  I  lired 
the  fatal  shot.  I  saved  her  head  and  had  it  mounted 
and  it  hangs  beside  that  of  the  buck  whose  taking 
off  has  been  described  and  whose  throat  was  also 


AIS^D    OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  293 

neatly  severed  by  the  bullet.   They  were  two  remark- 
able shots. 

After  dressing  this  deer  I  returned  to  the  old  burn 
in  which  I  had  killed  the  doe  in  the  morning,  and 
took  a  stand  on  a  high,  flat-top  stump,  which  com- 
manded a  good  view  of  a  large  tract  of  surrounding 
country.  I  felt  certain  that  the  young  buck  that 
was  with  her  when  I  killed  her  would  come  back 
toward  night  to  look  up  his  companion,  for  he  prob- 
ably did  not  realize  that  she  was  dead.  I  stood 
within  thirty  yards  of  her  carcass  and  for  an  hour 
kept  a  close  watch  in  every  direction,  turning  slowly 
from  one  position  to  another,  so  that  any  game  that 
came  in  sight  could  not  detect  the  movement  and 
would,  if  seeing  me  at  all,  consider  me  one  of  the 
numerous  old  high  stumps  with  which  the  landscape 
was  marked.  Toward  sundown  a  large,  liandsome 
buck  came  out  of  the  green  woods  half  a  mile  away, 
walking  deliberately  toward  me.  I  could  see  only 
a  proud  head  and  spreading  antlers,  and  an  occa- 
sional glimpse  of  his  silvery -gray  back  as  he  marched 
with  stately  but  cautious  tread  through  the  dry 
weeds.  He  stopped  frequently  to  look  and  listen 
for  danger,  or  the  coy  maidens  of  his  kind,  of  whom 
he  was  in  search.  Oh,  how  I  longed  for  a  sliot  at 
him!  With  bated  breath  and  throbbing  heart  I 
watched  his  slow  progress  across  the  open  country. 
But,  alas!  the  wind  (what  little  there  was)  was 
wrong.  When  within  about  200  yards  of  me  he 
scented  me  and  bounded  squarely  side  wise  as 
though  a  rattlesnake  had  bitten  him,  uttering  at  the 
same  time  one  of  those  peculiarly  thrilling  whistles 
that  might  have  been  heard  in  the  stillness  of  the 


294  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

evening  a  mile  or  more.  He  struck  a  picturesque 
attitude  and  scanned  tlie  country  in  every  direction, 
trying  to  locate  the  danger  but  could  not.  xlfter  a 
few  seconds  lie  made  another  high  bound,  stopped, 
and  whistled  again.  I  stood  perfectly  still,  and  he 
could  make  nothing  animate  out  of  the  inanimate 
objects  about  him.  He  leaped  hither  and  thither, 
snorted,  whistled,  and  sniffed  the  air  as  we  have  seen 
a  wild  colt  do  when  liberated  in  a  pasture  lield  after 
long  confinement  in  his  stall. 

Although  still  unable  to  satisfy  himself  as  to  the 
whereabouts  of  his  foe,  he  finally  seemed  to  decide 
that  that  was  not  a  healthy  neighborhood  for  him, 
and,  taking  his  back  trail,  started  to  get  out  of 
it  by  a  series  of  twenty-foot  leaps.  I  was  tempted 
to  hazard  a  shot  at  him,  but  could  see  such  a  small 
portion  of  his  body  when  standing  that  the  chances 
were  against  making  a  hit.  Besides,  as  already 
stated,  I  felt  sure  of  a  shot  at  shorter  range  by 
keeping  still.  I  watched  and  listened  closely  in 
every  direction.  The  sun  had  gone  down.  Mght 
was  silently  wrapping  her  somber  mantle  over  the 
vast  wilderness,  and  the  only  sounds  that  broke  the 
oppressive  stillness  were  the  occasional  croakings  of 
the  raven  as  he  winged  his  stately  flight  to  his 
rookery,  and  the  low,  solemn  sighing  of  the  autumn 
breezes  through  the  pine  tops.  I  Avas  benumbed 
with  cold,  and  was  tempted  to  desert  my  post  and 
make  a  run  for  camp.  I  raised  my  rifle  to  my 
shoulder  to  see  if  I  could  yet  see  the  sights,  for 
stars  were  beginning  to  sparkle  in  the  firmanent. 
Yes;  the  little  gold  bead  at  the  muzzle  still  gleamed 
in  the  twilight,  with  all  the  brilliancy  of  one  of  the 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES. 


295 


lamps  of  heaven.  I  turned  to  take  a  last  look  in 
the  direction  of  the  carcass  of  my  morning's  kill, 
and — imagine  my  astonishment  if  you  can — there 
stood  the  young  buck,  licking  the  body  of  his  fallen 
mate!  How  he  ever  got  there  through  all  those 
brush  and  weeds  without  my  hearing  or  seeing  him 
will  always  remain  a  profound  mystery  to  me.  But  a 
ball  from  my  express  entering  his  shoulder  and  pass- 
ing out  at  his  flank  laid  him  dead  by  the  side  of  his 
companion,  and  completed  the  best  score  I  ever 
made  on  deer — three  in  one  day — and  I  had  fired  but 
three  shots  in  all. 


-     CHAPTER  XXIX. 

George  T.  Pease  lives  in  a  log  shanty,  in 

^-f  the  heart  of  the  great  Wisconsin  pine 

^  woods,  ^ve  miles  west  of  Wausaukee 

/station,   on  the  Milwaukee  &  Northern 


J  Railroad.  A  beautiful  little  lake  stretches- 
out  in  front  of  his  door,  in  which  numer- 
ous  black  bass  make  their  home,  and 
several  brooks  meander  through  the  wil- 
derness not  far  away,  all  of  which  abound 
in  the  sprightly,  sparkling  brook  trout.  Deer 
roam  over  the  hills  far  and  near,  and  when 
the  first  ''tracking  snow"  comes,  in  the  van  of  icy 
winter,  their  hoof-prints  may  be  found  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  cabin  any  morning.  Pease  is 
a  genial,  kind-hearted  old  man,  in  whose  humble 
quarters  the  true  sportsman  is  always  welcome. 
Reared  in  these  woods,  and  bred  in  the  pure  atmos- 
phere that  abounds  here,  a  hunter  by  trade  and 
from  necessity,  he  is  a  simple,  honest  child  of  nature. 
With  the  exception  of  four  or  five  years  spent  in 
the  service  of  his  country,  during  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  he  has  lived  and  hunted  in-  this  region 
since  the  days  of  his  boyhood,  and  his  gray  haira 
bespeak  for  him  the  respect  men  always  feel  for  tha 
honest  old  woodsman. 

I  spent  several  days  hunting  with  him  in  Novem- 
ver,  1885,  and  the  intervening  nights — or  a  large 

(296) 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  297 

portion  of  each — in  talking  with  him.  I  learned  in 
that  short  time  to  esteem  and  value  him  as  one  of 
the  best  guides  and  hunters  I  ever  knew,  and  one  of 
the  truest  friends  I  have.  Although  he  has  been 
hunting  so  many  years  and  has  always  been  a  close 
observer  of  the  habits  of  game;  although  thoroughly 
posted  on  woodcraft  in  all  its  details,  he  is  not 
egotistical  as  are  so  many  old  woodsmen.  He  never 
intrudes  his  opinions  on  any  subject  unless  asked 
for  them;  never  dictates  what  anyone  under  his 
guidance  shall  do.  He  modestly  suggests,  and  if 
you  do  not  agree  with  him,  defers  cheerfully  to 
your  judgment. 

He  is  intelligent,  well-informed  generally,  full  of 
interesting  reminiscences  of  his  life  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  relates  many  thrilling  episodes  in  his  expe- 
rience i'l  hunting  deer,  bear,  wolves,  etc.  He  told 
me  that  once,  when  hunting  on  the  Menominee  river, 
he  saw  a  doe  lying  down,  and  raised  his  rifle  to  shoot 
her.  But  before  firing  he  noticed  that  she  had  seen 
him  and  was  struggling  to  get  up.  As  she  did  not 
succeed  in  this,  he  concluded  that  she  must  have 
been  wounded,  and  started  toward  her.  She  kept 
struggling,  but  was  unable  to  rise,  and  on  going  to 
her  he  found  that  she  had  lain  down  near  a  large 
hemlock  root,  that  had  curved  out  of  the  ground, 
forming  an  arch  or  loop  three  or  four  inches  high. 
One  of  her  hind  legs  had  slipped  under  this  root  to 
the  knee,  and  when  she  had  attempted  to  get  up  she 
had  probably  been  thrown  violently  on  her  side,  dis- 
locating the  hip  joint  and  thus  rendering  it  utterly 
impossible  for  her  to  draw  the  imprisoned  leg  from 
under  the  root.  He  said  the  poor  creature  had  appar- 


^93  CKUISIIS^GS  IN  THE   CASCADES 

ently  been  in  this  pitiable  plight  several  days;  that 
she  was  starved  and  emaciated  almost  to  a  shadow, 
and  had  tramped  and  pawed  a  hole  in  the  earth  more 
than  a  foot  deep,  over  the  entire  space  reached  by 
her  fore  feet.  Had  she  not  been  discovered,  the  poor 
creature  must  soon  have  died  from  starvation.  As 
it  was,  she  was  so  weak  that  when  he  released  her 
leg  from  this  strange  trap  she  was  unable  to  stand, 
and  he  reluctantly  killed  her,  as  the  speediest,  most 
humane,  and,  in  fact,  the  only  means  of  ending  her 
misery. 

I  reached  the  old  man's  cabin  at  about  noon.  We 
hunted  diligently  all  the  afternoon,  and  though  we 
saw  plenty  of  fresh  tracks  everywhere  in  the  newly- 
fallen  snow,  neither  of  us  could  get  sight  of  a  deer, 
and  when  we  met  at  the  shanty  at  dark  and 
exchanged  notes.  Pease  was  sorely  disappointed. 
The  next  forenoon  was  a  repetition  of  this  experi- 
ence, and  when  we  met  again  at  the  cabin  for 
dinner,  both  empty-handed,  his  disappointment  was 
Intensified  into  despondency.  We  separated  after 
the  noon  meal,  and  when  we  came  in  at  night,  I 
looked  even  more  dejected  and  disgusted  than  ever, 
and  asserted,  with  a  good  deal  of  emjphasis,  that  I 
did  not  believe  the  "blasted"  country  was  any  good 
for  game;  that  I  thought  he  or  someone  had  hunted 
the  deer  and  shot  at  them  until  they  were  so  wild  that 
no  man  could  get  within  500  yards,  of  one.  He 
insisted  that  such  was  not  the  case;  that  he  had 
been  killing  plenty  of  deer  that  fall,  and  that  others 
had  killed  a  few  in  the  neighborhood,  but  not 
enough  to  spoil  the  hunting,  as  I  claimed.     He  said 


AND   OTHER  HUNTHS-G  ADVENTURES.  299 

our  want  of  success  utterly  astonislied  him;  that  he 
was  truly  sorry;  that  he  could  not  account  for  it, 
and  that  we  should  surely  make  a  killing  on  the 
morrow. 

"Have  you  seen  any  fresh  tracks  to-day  r-  I  asked. 

"  Oh,  yes,  plenty  of  them;  haven't  youf 

^'Well,  yes,  two  or  three;  but  I  think  the  deer 
that  made  them  were  ten  miles  away  when  I  got 
there." 

"  Why,"  said  he,  *'  when  I  started  out  this  after- 
noon I  skirted  along  that  big  swamp,  where  you 
hunted  in  the  morning,  and  I  saw  where  four  deer 
had  crossed  your  track  since  you  went  along.  One 
of  them  was  an  awful  big  buck.  I  took  up  his  trail 
and  followed  it  in  hopes  of  overtaking  him  and  get- 
ting a  shot.  He  roamed  and  circled  around  among 
the  hills  and  through  the  swamps  for,  I  reckon, 
more  than  five  miles.  I  walked  just  as  still  as  I  pos- 
sibly could,  for  I  knew  we  were  mighty  nigh  out  of 
meat,  and  I  am  gettin'  mighty  tired  of  bacon  any- 
how. But  somehow  that  buck  heard  me  or  smelt 
me,  or  something,  and  the  first  and  last  I  saw  of  him 
was  just  one  flip  of  his  tail  as  he  went  over  a  ridge 
about  three  hundred  yards  away.  I  sat  down  on  a  log 
and  waited  and  studied  a  long  time  what  to  do  or 
where  to  go  next;  and  finally  I  concluded  I'd  just 
come  in  and  get  supper  ready  by  the  time  you  got 
here.  Set  up,  sir,  and  have  a  cup  of  coffee  and  some 
of  these  baked  potatoes  and  some  of  this  bacon.  It 
ain'  t  much  of  a  supper,  but  maybe  we'll  feel  a  little 
better  after  we  eat  it,  anyway."    . 

I  surrounded  one  side  of  the  rough  pine  table 
suddenly,  and  when  I  got  my  mouth  so  full  I  couldn't 


300  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

talk  plain,  I  said,  in  a  careless,  uninterested  sort  of 
a  way: 

"  I  saw  where  you  sat  down  on  that  log." 

"Did  your ' 

"Yes;  I  sat  down  and  rested  there,  too.  I  was 
just  about  as  tired  and  as  disgusted  and  as  mad  as  I 
am  now;  but  after  sitting  there  ten  or  fifteen  minutes, 
I  trudged  along  through  that  maple  thicket  just 
below  there,  and  when  I  got  through  it  I  saw  a  big 
buck  smelling  along  on  a  doe's  track,  up  on  the  side- 
hill,  and  I  killed  him  and  then  started  on  after  the 
doe,  and " 

Pease  had  dropped  his  knife  and  fork  and  was 
looking  at  me  with  his  mouth  half  open  and  his  eyes 
half  shut. 

"  AVhat  did  you  say?"  he  inquired  in  a  dazed,  half- 
whispered  tone. 

"  I  say  I  killed  the  buck  and  then  started " 

"  You  killed  a  buck?" 

"Yes." 

"When?"  he  gasped,  with  his  mouth  and  eyes  a 
little  wider  open. 

' '  This  afternoon, ' '  said  I,  calmly  and  complacently. 

"Where?" 

"  Why  just  below  that  thicket;  just  below  where 
you  sat  down  on  the  log." 

The  old  man  sat  and  gazed  at  me  for  two  or  three 
minutes  while  I  continued  to  eat  as  if  nothing 
unusual  had  happened. 

"  Are  you  joking?''  he  said  at  last. 

"No;  Tm  telling  you  the  straight  truth.  The 
liver  and  heart  are  hanging  out  there  on  the  corner 
of  the  cabin;  go  out  and  look  at  them." 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  301 

"  Well,  ril  be  dad  blasted!"  slioutedtlie  old  man. 


as  lie  jumped  up  and  grasped  me  by  the  hand. 
*' Why  on  earth  didn' t  you  say  so  when  you  first 
came  in?  What  did  you  want  to  deceive  me  for? 
Why  did  you  want  to  do  all  that  kicking  about  the 
hunting  being  so  poor?' ' 

"Oh,  I  just  wanted  to  have  a  little  fun  with 
you." 

Throughout  that  evening  Pease  was  one  of  the 
happiest  men  I  ever  saw.  He  seemed,  and,  in  fact, 
said  he  was,  twice  as  proud  to  have  me,  his  guest, 
kill  a  deer  as  he  would  have  been  to  ha^ve  killed  it 
himself. 

He  chatted  cheerfully  until  eleven  o'  clock  before 
showing  any  signs  of  sleepiness.  This  was  about  all 
the  game  I  cared  to  kill,  so  I  asked  Pease  to  go  into 
the  station  and  get  a  team  to  come  out  and  take  my 
meat  in.  In  order  to  pass  the  forenoon  pleasantly, 
I  took  my  rifle  and  started  into  the  woods  again.  I 
went  at  once  to  the  buck  I  had  killed,  reaching  the 
carcass  shortly  after  sunrise.  I  cut  down  a  jack 
pine,  and,  trimming  oif  the  boughs,  made  a  bed. 
Then  I  laid  down,  took  out  a  book  and  commenced 
to  read,  while  waiting  for  the  team  and  for  any  deer 
that  might  happen  along. 

But  I  had  not  read  half  a  dozen  lines  when  I 
heard  a  slight  rustling  and  cracking  in  the  frozen 
snow,  and,  looking  in  the  direction  of  the  noise,  I 
saw  a  young  spike  buck  walking  slowly  and  deliber- 
ately down  the  hill  not  a  hundred  yards  away.  I 
caught  up  my  express  and  made  a  snap  shot  at  him, 
but  in  my  haste  and  surprise  missed  him  clear. 
At  the  report  he  stopped,  threw  up  his  head  and 


302  cruisiinGS  iin  the  cascades 

presented  a  beautiful  picture,  as  well  as  a  fair,  easy 
target. 

"Now,  my  lad,"  I  said  to  myself,   ''you  are  my 
meat  sure." 

I  was  so  confident  of  success  this  time  that  I 
scarcely  took  any  aim  at  all.     Again  I  scored  an 
inglorious  miss  and  the  deer  started  away  on  a  series 
of  long,  high  bounds.     I  threw  in  another  cartridge, 
held  ahead  of  him,  and  as  he  struck  the  ground  the 
second  time  I  pulled  for  the  third  time.     Then  there 
was  a  circus  of  a  kind  that  a  hunter  rarely  sees. 
The  buck  fell  to  bucking,  bleating,  and  kicking. 
His  hind  feet  would  go  into  the  air  like  a  couple  of 
arrows  and  with  such  force  that  they  would  snap 
like  a  whip  cracker.    Then  he  would  rear  on  his  hind 
feet  and  paw  the  air;  then  jump  side  wise  and  back- 
ward.    He  threw  himself  twice  in  his  gyrations,  and 
each  time  was  on  his  feet   again  almost  before  I 
could  realize  that  he  had  gone  down.     This  gym- 
nastic   exhibition    lasted    perhaps    two    or    three 
minutes,  during  which  time  I  was  so  paralyzed  with 
laughter  that  I  could  not  have  shot  within  six  feet 
of  him  if  I  had  tried.     Besides,  I  wanted  to  see  the 
performance  out.    Finally  the  bucker  recovered  his 
wits  and  skipped  out.     I  followed  and  found  that 
he  was  discharging  blood  at  such  a  rate  that  he 
could  not  go  far.     He  went  into  a  large  thicket.     I 
jumped  him  three  times  before  I  could  get  a  fair  shot 
at  him,  and  could  hear  him  wheeze  every  time  I  came 
near  him.      Finally  I  saw  him  lying  a  few  yards 
away,  but  his  head  was  still  up  and  I  sent  a  bullet 
through  his  neck.     On  examination  I  found  that 
my  first  shot  had  cut  the  point  of  his  breastbone 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES. 


303 


off  and  had  ruptured  botli  his  oesophagus  and  trachea. 
I  dragged  him  out  and  laid  him  by  the  side  of  the 
big  buck,  and  when  Pease  came  in  with  the  team 
an  hour  later  he  said  : 

''  Well,  I'll  be  dad  blasted  if  he  hain't  got  another 
one." 

I  shall  always  remember  that  hunt  as  one  of  the 
pleasantest  of  my  life,  considering  the  length  of 
time  it  occupied. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

COWBOY    LIFE. 

HE  workings  of  the  law  of  evolution 
are  plainly  discernible  in  the 
development  of  the  "cowboy,"  a 
certain  prominent  and  now  well- 
defined  character  of  the  far  West — 
one  that  was  made  necessary  by, 
and  has  grown  out  of,  the  vast  cattle  interests 
which  have,  in  the  past  two  or  three  decades,  spread 
over  that  mystic  region.  His  counterpart  is  scarcely 
to  be  found  anywhere  else  in  the  civilized  world,  for 
the  very  good  reason  that  such  a  species  of  man- 
hood is  not  required  anywhere  else.  True,  cattle- 
raising  is  carried  on  extensively  in  many  States  of 
our  Union  and  in  various  other  countries,  but 
nowhere  under  the  same  conditions  and  on  the 
same  plan  as  in  the  West;  hence,  though  herders, 
drovers,  and  the  like  are  employed  elsewhere,  there 
is  no  locality  in  which  n  class  of  men  endowed  with 
such  characteristics  and  requiring  such  peculiar 
tastes  and  faculties  are  to  be  found  as  are  combined 
in  the  cowboy  of  our  Western  plains.  The  life  he 
leads  and  the  services  he  is  required  to  perform  call 
into  the  business  young  men  possessing  tastes  and 
traits  different  from  those  of  average  human  nature, 
and  such  as  are  not  found  in  men  following  any  other 

(304) 


AXD   OTHER  HUXTTNG   ADVENTURES.  305 

vocation,  as  a  class.  It  is  an  occupation  that  entails, 
generally  speaking,  a  life  of  isolation  from  society, 
and  in  many  cases  from  civilization.  It  is  one  in 
whicli  home  comforts  must  be  disj)ensed  with;  it  is 
one  requiring  its  devotees  to  live  on  jDlain  food,  in 
log  hilts,  and  to  sleep  in  blankets  at  best;  it  is  one 
in  which  there  is  often  intense  hardship  and  suffer- 
ing, and  v/hich  exposes  its  disciples  to  dangers  of 
various  kinds. 

When  all  these  facts  and  peculiarities  of  the  - 
calling  are  considered  we  must  readily  per<?eive  that 
men  of  ordinary  tastes  and  inclinations  would  not 
seek  to  engage  in  it.  Cowboys  are  not  "native and 
to  the  manor  born."  They  do  not  follow  in  the 
footsteps  of  their  fathers  as  do  young  men  on  East- 
ern farms.  The  business  is  yet  too  young  in  our 
Western  Territories  to  have  brought  about  this  state 
of  affairs,  though  it  will  come  to  exist  in  future.  But 
at  present  cowboys  are  all  exotics,  transplanted  from 
Eastern  soil.  Let  us  consider,  then,  what  manner  of 
boy  or  young  man  would  adopt  such  a  calling, 
dertainly  not  he  who  considers  a  well- spread  table, 
a  cozy,  cheerful  room,  a  good  soft  bed,  and  neat, 
tasty  clotliing  essential  to  his  health  and  happiness; 
nor  he  who  is  unwilling  to  sever  his  connection 
with  the  social  circle  or  the  family  group;  nor  he 
who  must  have  his  daily  paper,  his  comfortable 
office  chair  and  desk;  his  telegraph  and  other  com- 
mercial facilities  and  comforts;  nor  yet  he  who, 
when  he  travels,  must  needs  ride  in  a  comfortable 
carriage  on  the  highway,  or  a  Pullman  coach  on  the 
railway.  But  the  young  man  who  is  willing  to 
engage    in    the    occupation    of    ^'rustling  cattle" 

20 


306  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

on  the  plains,  who  is  willing  to  assume  the  title 
of  "cowboy,"  must  be  he  who,  although  he  may 
love  all  these  luxuries,  and  may  perhaps  have  been 
accustomed  to  enjoy  them,  has  in  his  nature  enough 
of  romance,  enough  love  for  outdoor  life,  enough 
love  of  sport,  excitement,  and  adventure,  enough 
enthusiasm  for  the  wild  freedom  of  the  frontier,  to 
be  willing  to  deny  himself  all  these  luxuries  and 
to  allow  such  pleasures  as  the  ranch  and  range  can 
afford,  to  compensate  for  them. 

The  love  of  money  can  not  enter  largely  into  the 
consideration  of  the  question,  for  while  the  work  is 
often  of  the  hardest  kind  a  man  can  endure  and  the 
hours  of  labor  only  limited  by  the  men's  power  of 
endurance,  the  wages  usually  paid  are  Ioav.  From 
$25  to  $35  a  month  is  the  average  rate  of  wages  for 
all  good  men  on  the  range  except  the  foreman,  who 
commands  from  $60  to  $75  a  month,  according  to  his 
ability,  the  number  of  men  he  is  to  have  charge  of, 
and  the  responsibility  of  his  position  generally. 
Ambition  to  succeed  to  this  dignity,  or  a  desire  to 
learn  the  cattle-growing  business  with  a  view  of 
engaging  in  it  on  their  own  account,  may  induce 
some  boys  to  engage  as  herders,  but  the  young  man 
who  deliberately  chooses  this  occupation  is  usually 
one  with  a  superabundance  of  vim,  energy,  and 
enthusiasm;  one  who  chafes  under  the  restraints  of 
society,  who  is  bored  and  annoyed  by  the  quiet  hum- 
drum life  of  the  Eastern  village,  city,  or  farm  house; 
one  who  longs  to  go  where  he  can  breathe  fresh  air, 
exercise  his  arms,  legs,  and  lungs,  if  need  be,  without 
disturbing  the  peace;  one  who,  in  short,  requires, 
more  room  to  live  in  than  his  birthplace  affords. 


AND    OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  307 

Many  a  cowboy  of  to-day  was,  in  Ms  childhood 
or  youth,  the  street  gamin,  the  newsboy,  the 
"hard  nut"  at  school;  the  dare-devil  of  the  rural 
districts;  the  hero  of  daring  exploits;  the  boy  who 
did  not  fear  to  climb  to  the  top  of  the  highest 
tree  to  punch  a  squirrel  out  of  his  hole;  who  led  the 
raid  on  an  orchard  or  watermelon  patch  on  a  dark 
night;  who  at  college  was  at  the  head  of  all  wdld, 
reckless  frolics,  and  was  also  well  up  in  his  classes; 
w4io  led  the  village  marshal  or  the  city  policeman 
many  a  wild-goose  chase  and  caused  them  many  a 
sleepless  night  by  his  innocent  though  mischievous 
pranks.  He  is  the  boy  who  w^as  always  ready  for 
a  lark  of  any  kind  that  could  produce  excitement, 
fun,  or  adventure  without  bringing  serious  harm  to 
anyone.  He  was  not  the  vicious,  thieving,  lying, 
sneaking  boy,  but  the  irrepressible,  uncontrollable, 
wild,  harum-scarum  chap  who  led  the  gang;  the 
champion  of  the  weak;  the  boy  who  w^ould  fight 
"  at  the  drop  of  the  hat"  in  defense  of  a  friend  of 
his  own  sex  or  of  even  a  stranger  of  the  opi^osite 
sex.  These  are  the  boys  of  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty 
years  ago  wiiom  to-day  you  may  find  riding  wild 
cayuses  on  the  cattle  ranges  of  the  boundless 
plains. 

As  a  class,  they  have  been  shamefully  maligned. 
That  there  are  bad,  vicious  characters  amongst  them 
can  not  be  denied,  but  that  many  of  the  murders, 
thefts,  arsons,  and  other  depredations  which  are 
committed  in  the  frontier  toAvns  and  charged  to 
cowboys,  are  really  committed  by  Indians,  bummers, 
superannuated  buffalo  hunters,  and  other  hangers 
on,  who  never  do  an  honest  day' s  work  of  any  kind, 


308 


CRUISINGS   IX   THE   CASCADES 


but  who  eke  out  a  miserable,  lialf -starved  existence 
by  gambling,  stealing,  poisoning  wolves,  etc.,  is  a 
fact  well  known  to  every  close  student  of  frontier 
life.  And  yet,  crimes  and  misdemeanors  are  occa- 
sionally committed  by  men  who  are,  for  the  time 


,.,^j:U}oy^ 


M]V 


THE  "WOOLLY  COWBOY  * 

being  at  least,  regularly  employed  in  riding  the 
range.  Fugitives  from  justice,  thieves,  cut-throats, 
and  hoodlums  of  all  classes  from  the  large  cities 
have  drifted  West,  and  have  sought  employment  on 


the 


ranges  because 


nothino;  better  or  more  con- 


genial offered;  but  such  are  seldom  employed, 
and  if  emj^loyed  at  all,  are  generally  discharged  as 
soon  as  their  true  character  is  learned  and  their 
places  can  be  filled  by  worthier  men. 


AIN^D   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  309 

Neither  do  I  wish  to  defend  the  "fresh"  young 
man  from  the  East  who  goes  West  to  "paralyze" 
the  natives,  who  gets  a  job  on  the  ranch,  makes 
a  break  for  "loud  togs,"  arms,  and  knives,  large 
nickel-plated  spurs,  raises  a  crop  of  long  hair  and 
"  catches  on  "  to  aJl  the  bad  language  of  the  country, 
fills  up  on  bad  whisky  at  every  opportunity  aad 
then  asserts  that  "he's  a  wolf,  it's  his  night  to 
howl." 

Nor  do  I  wish  to  defend  the  swarthy,  loud-oathed, 
lieavily-armed  "greaser"  of  Mexico  and  the  Texan 
ranges,  who  accounts  himself  a  ' '  cowboy ' '  par  excel- 
lence^ but  who  much  prefers  the  filthy  atmosphere 
of  the  gambling  den,  or  the  variety  dive  of  frontier 
towns,  to  the  pure  air  of  the  prairies.  These  are  the 
exceptions,  and  fortunately  are  in  a  "distinguished 
minority,"  and  it  is  but  just  that  all  such  swaggering 
humbugs  should  be  loaded  with  the  obloquy  they 
deserve,  and  should  be  apx)ropriately  branded,  even 
as  their  master's  beasts  are  branded,  that  all  the 
world  might  know  them,  wherever  found,  for  the 
infamous  humbugs  that  they  are.  My  purpose 
here  is  to  chamj)ion  the  frank,  honest,  energetic, 
industrious  young  fellows  who  engage  in  this  calling 
from  pure  motives,  most  of  whom  have  fair  educa- 
tions, and  some  of  whom  are  graduates  of  Eastern 
colleges — who  are  brimful  of  pure  horse-sense,  and 
who  are  ambitious  to  earn  an  honest  living,  and  to 
make  themselves  useful  to  their  employers  in  every 
possible  way,  aside  from  their  ability  to  snare  a 
bullock.  Many  of  these  are  Nature's  noblemen, 
and  their  good  qualities  shine  through  their  rough 
garb,  as  the  sunlight  of  heaven  shines  through  a 


310  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

rift  in  a  dark  cloud.  Their  hearts,  though  encased 
in  blue  flannel  or  water-proof  canvas,  are  as  light 
as  the  air  they  breathe;  tlieir  minds  as  pure  and 
clear  as  the  mountain  brooks  from  which  they  love 
to  drink;  their  whole  natures  as  generous  and  liberal 
as  the  boundless  meadows  upon  which  their  herds 
graze,  and  their  hospitality  only  limited  by  the 
supply  of  food  and  other  comforts  they  have  with 
which  to  entertain  a  visitor.  Strangers  are  always 
welcome  at  their  shacks,  and  no  matter  at  what  time 
of  day  or  night  you  arrive,  you  and  your  horses 
are  promptly  taken  care  of,  you  are  invited  to  stay 
and  eat,  to  sleep  if  you  will,  and  are  promptly  given  to 
understand  that  the  best  the  ranch  affords  is  at  your 
command.  I  have  known  many  of  these  men  inti- 
mately, and  have  never  known  one  who  would  not 
cheerfully  share  his  last  ounc  ^  of  food,  his  last  dol- 
lar, or  his  only  blanket  with  a  needy  stranger;  or 
who  would  not  walk  and  allow  an  unfortunately 
dismounted  traveler  to  ride  his  horse  half  way  to 
camj),  or  the  ranch,  even  though  that  might  be  a 
hundred  miles  away.  They  invariably  refuse  all 
remuneration  for  services  or  accommodations  of  such 
nature,  and  if  it  be  pressed  upon  them,  the  stranger  is 
liable  to  be  told  in  language  more  expressive  than 
elegant  they  don' t  make  tlieir  living  by  taking  care 
of  tenderfeet. 

As  a  class,  they  are  brimful  and  running  over  with 
wit,  merriment,  and  good  humor.  They  are  always 
ready  for  any  bit  of  innocent  fun,  but  are  not  per- 
petually spoiling  for  a  fight,  as  has  so  often  been 
said  of  them.  They  are  at  i)eace  with  all  men,  and 
would  not  be  otherwise  from  choice.     As  a  rule,  if  a 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  311 

man  quaiTel  with  one  of  tliem,  lie  forces  the  war  and 
is  himself  to  blame.  Their  love  of  fun  often  leads 
to  trouble,  though  generally  because  the  victim  of 
it  does  not  know  how,  or  is  not  willing,  to  either 
''chip  in"  or  excuse  himself.  They  are  fond  of 
^'piping  off"  anything  that  is  particularly  conspic- 
uous, or  vice  versa,  no  matter  to  whom  it  belongs, 
and  they  dislike  to  see  snobbish  airs  assumed  in 
their  country,  though  such  might  pass  current  in 
any  Eastern  city. 

I  once  saw  a  dude  step  out  of  a  hotel  in  Cheyenne, 
wearing  a  silk  hat,  cut-away  coat,  lavender  pants, 
high  pressure  collar,  scarlet  velvet  scarf,  patent 
leather  shoes,  etc.  Several  cowboys  were  riding 
through  the  street  and  spied  him. 

''Say,  Dick,"  said  one  of  them,  "what  de  ye 
s'poseitis?" 

"Let's  tackle  it  and  see,"  said  Dick;  "it  looks 
alive." 

"Pard,  hadn't  you  better  put  them  togs  on  ice?" 
queried  another  of  the  party.  "They're  liable  to 
spile  in  this  climate." 

The  youth  was  highly  offended,  gave  them  a 
haughty,  withering  look,  and  without  deigning  a 
reply  of  any  kind  turned  to  walk  back  into  the  hotel. 

"Let's  brand  it,"  said  Dick,  and  as  quick  as  a 
flash  a  lariat  fell  about  the  dude,  closed  round  his 
slender  waist,  and  he  was  a  prisoner.  The  boys 
gathered  round  him,  chaffed  him  good-naturedly, 
took  his  hat  and  rubbed  the  nap  the  wrong  way,  put 
some  alkali  mud  on  his  shoes,  and  then  released  him, 
bidding  him  "go  in  and  j)ut  on  sonje  clothes."  A 
little  good-natured  repartee  on  his  part,  oraninvita- 


312  CRUISINGS   IN   THE  CASCADES 

tion  to  drink  or  smoke,  or  a  pleasant  reply  of  any 
kind,  would  have  let  him  out  tvithout  any  unpleas- 
ant treatment;  but  he  scorned  them,  and  they  con- 
sidered it  a  duty  to  society  to  post  him  on  how  to  act 
when  away  from  home. 

A  friend  relates  having  seen  an  eccentric  individ- 
ual, with  a  long  plaid  ulster,  walking  along  the 
principal  street  in  Miles  City,  and  as  the  sun  came 
out  from  behind  a  cloud  and  commenced  to  beam 
down  with  a  good  deal  of  force,  he  raised  a  green 
umbrella.  A  "  cow  puncher"  rode  up  and,  pointing 
at  the  umbrella,  asked: 

' '  What  is  she  pard?  Fetch  her  in  and  put  a  drink 
in  'er." 

The  man  was  both  scared  and  mad.  He  thought 
he  had  been  insulted  by  one  of  those  "notorious, 
ruffianly  cowboys. ' '  He  called  ' '  police.' '  But  the 
police  was  not  at  hand,  and  in  the  disturbance  that 
followed  his  umbrella  was  spirited  awsij,  he  knew 
not  whither  or  by  whom,  and  his  plaid  ulster  was 
somewhat  damaged  by  contact  with  mother  earth. 
All  he  would  have  had  to  do  to  preserve  the  peace 
and  his  self-respect,  would  have  been  to  answer  the 
fellow  good-naturedly  in  the  first  place,  either 
declining  or  accepting  his  invitation,  and  he  could 
have  gone  on  his  way  unmolested;  but  he  brought 
a  small-sized  riot  on  himself  by  assuming  a  dignity 
that  was  out  of  place  in  that  country  and  under  such 
circumstances. 

In  common  with  all  other  human  beings,  the  cow- 
boy requires  and  must  have  amusement  of  some 
kind,  and  his  isolated  condition,  depriving  him  of 
the    privileges  of  theatres,    parties,    billiards,    and 


AND    OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  313 

other  varieties  of  amusement  that  young  men  in  the 
States  usually  indulge  in;  of  the  refining  and  restrain- 
ing influences  of  the  female  sex,  it  is  but  natural  that 
his  exuberance  of  spirit  should  find  sport  of  other 
kinds.  His  only  sources  of  amusement  on  the  ranch 
are  Ijis  rifle,  revolver,  bronco,  lariat,  and  cards,  and 
in  course  of  time  he  tires  of  these  and  seeks  a  change. 
He  goes  to  town  and  meets  there  some  of  his  com- 
rades or  acquaintances,  and  they  indulge  in  some 
wild  pranks,  which  to  Eastern  people,  and  especially 
those  who  happen  to  fall  victims  to  their  practical 
jokes,  ai^pear  ruffianly.  Their  love  of  excit^^ment 
and  adventure  sometimes  gets  the  better  of  their 
judgment,  and  they  carry  their  fun  to  excess.  They 
corral  the  crew  of  a  train  which  has  stopped  at  the 
station,  .'md  amuse  themselves  and  the  passengers  by 
making  the  conductor,  brakeman,  baggageman, 
engineer,  and  fireman  dance  a  jig  to  the  music  of  six- 
shooters.  In  one  instance  they  boarded  the  train 
and  made  the  Theo.  Thomas  orchestra  (which  hap- 
pened to  be  aboard)  give  them  an  extemx)oraneous 
concert.  They  have  even  been  known  to  carry  their 
revels  to  a  still  worse  stage  than  this,  and  to  resort 
to  acts  of  real  abuse  and  injury  against  defenseless 
people.  But  such  acts  on  the  part  of  genuine  cow- 
boys are  rare.  They  are  usually  perpetrated  by  the 
class,  already  mentioned,  of  "fresh"  young  chaps 
or  objectional  characters  who  drift  into  the  business 
from  other  than  pure  motives,  and  frequently  by 
pretended  cowboys  who  are  not  such  in  any  sense  of 
the  term.  But  by  whomsoever  perpetrated,  such  acts 
are  highly  offensive  to  and  vigorously  condemned 
by  the  respectable  element  in  the  business,  both 


314 


CRUISINGS  IN  THE   CASCADES 


employers  and  employes.  Much  odium  lias  attached 
to  the  fraternity  by  such  conduct,  and  much  more 
by  reason  of  crimes  committed  by  others  and 
charged  to  this  class,  so  that  the  cowboy  is  in 
much  worse  repute  among  Eastern  people  than  he 
would  be  if  better  known  by  them.  And  notwith- 
standing all  the  hard  things  with  which  these  men 
have  been  charged,  I  had  much  rather  take  my 
chances,  as  to  safety  of  life  and  personal  property, 
in  a  country  inhabited  only  by  them  than  in  any 


ON  THE  TRAIL. 


Eastern  town  or  city  with  all  their  police  ' '  i^rotec- 
tion."  When  sojourning  in  cattle  countries,  I  have 
left  my  camp  day  after  day  and  night  after  night, 
with  valuable  property  of  various  kinds  lying  in  and 
about  it,  without  any  attempt  at  concealment.  I 
have  left  my  horses  and  mules  to  graze,  wholly 
unguarded,  several  days  and  nights  together,  and 
though  on  my  return  T  may  have  seen  that  my  camp 
had  been  visited,  probably  by  several  men,  not  a 
thing  had  been  disturbed,  except  that  perchance 
some  of  tliem  had  been  hungry  and  had  eaten  a  meal 


AND   OTHER  HUNTINO  ADVENTURES.  315 

at  my  expense.  It  is  the  custom  of  the  country  to 
leave  camps  and  cabins  at  any  time,  and  for  as  long  a 
time  as  necessary,  without  locking  up  or  concealment 
of  any  kind,  and  instances  of  stealing  under  such 
circumstances  are  almost  unheard  of,  while  he  who 
would  leave  personal  property  similarly  exposed 
within  the  bounds  of  civilization  would  scarcely  hope 
to  find  it  on  his  return. 

An  incident  may  serve  to  illustrate  how  suddenly 
Eastern  people  change  their  opinions  of  cowboys 
on  close  acquaintance.  I  was  going  west  a  few 
years  since  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and 
stepping  off  the  train  at  Dickinson,  Dak.,  met 
Howard  Eaton,  an  old-time  friend  and  fellow  hunter, 
a  typical  cowboy,  who  has  charge  of  a  ranch  and 
a  large  herd  of  cattle  in  the  ' '  Bad  Lands ' '  on  the 
Little  Missouri  river.  He  was  dressed  in  the  regu- 
lation costume  of  the  craft — canvas  pants  and  jacket, 
leather  chaparejos,  blue  flannel  shirt,  and  broad- 
brimmed  white  felt  hat.  His  loins  were  girt  about 
with  a  well-filled  cartridge-belt,  from  which  hung 
the  six-shooter,  which  may  almost  be  termed  a  badge 
of  the  order.  Large  Mexican  spurs  rattled  at  his 
heels  as  he  walked.  He  had  ridden  thirty-five  miles 
under  the  spur,  arriving  at  the  station  just  in  time 
to  catch  the  train,  and  having  no  time  to  change  his 
apparel,  even  if  he  had  wished  1o  do  so.  He  was 
going  some  distance  on  the  same  train,  and  I  invited 
him  into  the  sleeper.  As  he  entered  and  w^alked 
down  the  aisle  the  passengers  became  suddenly 
alarmed  at  the  aj^parition — imagining  that  the  train 
had  been  corraled  by  a  party  of  the  terrible  cowboys 
of  whom  they  had  heard  such  blood-curdling  tales, 


316  CRUISINGS   IX  THE  CASCADES 

and  that  this  was  a  committee  of  one  sent  in  to 
order  them  to  throw  up  their  hands.  They  looked 
anxiously  and  timidly  from  the  windows  for  the  rest 
of  the  gang  and  listened  for  the  popping  of  revolv- 
ers, but  when  I  conducted  him  to  our  section  and 
introduced  him  to  my  wife  they  began  to  feel  easier. 
He  remarked  casually  that  he  was  hungry.  We 
had  a  well-filled  lunch-basket  with  us,  and,  ordering 
a  table  placed  in  position,  my  wife  hastily  spread  its 
contents  before  him.  He  ate  as  only  a  cowboy  can 
eat,  especially  after  having  lately  ridden  thirty-five 
miles  in  three  hours.  Our  fellow  passengers  became 
interested  spectators,  and  after  our  friend  had 
finished  his  repast  we  introduced  him  to  several  of 
them.  They  were  agreeably  surprised  to  discover  in 
conversation  his  polished  manners,  his  fluent  and 
well-chosen  language.  His  handsome  though  sun- 
burned face,  and  his  kind,  genial  nature  revealed 
the  fact  that  his  rough  garb  encased  the  form  of  an 
educated  and  cultured  gentleman;  and  before  we 
had  been  an  hour  together  they  had  learned  to 
respect  and  admire  the  wild,  picturesque  character 
whom  at  first  they  had  feared. 

The  skill  which  some  of  these  men  attain  in  their 
profession  challenges  the  admiration  of  everyone 
who  is  permitted  to  witness  exhibitions  of  it.  As 
riders  they  can  not  be  excelled  in  the  world,  and  I 
have  seen  some  of  them  perform  feats  of  horseman- 
ship that  were  simply  marvelous.  A  cowboy  is 
required  to  ride  anything  that  is  given  him  and  ask 
no  questions.  A  wild  young  bronco  that  has  never 
been  touched  by  the  hand  of  man  is  sometimes 
roped  out  of  a  herd  and  handed  over  to  one  of  the 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  317 

boys  with  instructions  to  "ride  him."  With  the 
aid  of  a  comiDanion  or  two  he  saddles  and  mounts 
him,  and  the  scene  that  ensues  baffles  description. 
A  bucking  cayuse  must  be  seen  under  the  saddle, 
under  a  limber  cowboy,  and  on  his  native  heath,  in 
order  to  be  appreciated  at  his  true  worth.  His 
movements  are  not  always  the  same — in  fact,  are 
extremely  varied,  and  are  doubtless  intended  to 
be  a  series  of  surprises  even  to  an  old  hand  at  the 
businesSo  The  bronco  is  ingenious — he  is  a  strategist. 
Sometimes  the  first  break  a  "  fresh"  one  makes  is  to 
try  to  get  out  of  the  country  as  fast  as  possible. 
If  so,  the  rider  allows  him  to  go  as  far  and  as  fast 
as  he  likes,  for  nothing  will  tame  him  quicker  than 
plenty  of  hard  work.  But  he  soon  finds  that  he  can 
not  get  out  from  under  his  load  in  this  way,  and 
generally  reverses  his  tactics  before  going  far.  Some- 
times he  stops  suddenly — so  suddenly  as  to  throw 
an  inexperienced  rider  a  long  ways  in  front  of  him. 
But  a  good  cowboy,  or  "bronco  buster,"  as  he  would 
be  termed  while  engaged  in  this  branch  of  the  busi- 
ness, is  a  good  stayer  and  keeps  his  seat.  The  horse 
may  then  try  to  jump  out  from  under  his  rider — 
first  forward  then  backward,  or  vice  versa.  Then 
he  may  spring  suddenly  side  wise,  either  to  right 
or  left,  or  both.  Then  h'fe  may  do  some  lofty 
tumbling  acts,  alighting  most  always  stiff -legged; 
sometimes  with  his  front  end  the  highest  and  some- 
times about  level,  but  usually  with  his  hinder  parts 
much  the  highest  and  with  his  back  arched  like 
that  of  a  mad  cat.  He  keeps  his  nose  as  close 
to  the  ground  as  he  can  get  it.  Sometimes  he  will 
utter  an  unearthly  squeal  that  makes  one's  blood 


318  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

run  cold,  and  will  actually  eat  a  few  mouthfuls  of 
the  earth  when  he  gets  mad  enough.  Sometimes 
he  will  throw  himself  in  his  struggles,  and  again 
as  a  last  resort  he  will  lie  down  and  roll.  This 
must  free  him  for  a  moment,  but  the  daring  and 
agile  rider  is  in  the  saddle  again  as  soon  as  the  beast 
is  on  his  feet.  Then  the  horse  is  likely  to  wheel 
suddenly  from  side  to  side  and  to  spin  round 
and  round  on  his  hind  feet  like  a  top ;  to  snort 
and  bound  hither  and  thither  like  a  rubber  ball. 
During  all  this  time  the  valiant  rider  sits  in  his 
saddle,  loose-jointed  and  limp  as  a  piece  of  buckskin, 
his  body  swaying  to  and  fro  with  the  motions  of  his 
struggling  steed  like  a  leaf  that  is  fanned  by  the 
summer  breeze.  He  holds  a  tight  rein,  keeping  his 
horse's  head  as  high  as  possible,  and  plunges  the 
rowels  into  his  ilanks,  first  on  one  side  and  then  on 
the  other,  until  frequently  the  ground  is  copiously 
si)rinkled  with  the  blood  of  the  fiery  steed.  The 
duration  of  this  scene  is  limited  simply  by  the 
powers  of  endurance  of  the  horse,  for  in  nearly 
every  instance  he  will  keep  up  his  struggles  until 
he  sinks  upon  the  ground  exhausted,  and,  for  the 
time  being  at  leiast,  is  subdued.  Then  he  is  forced 
upon  his  feet  again  and  may  generally  be  ridden  the 
remainder  of  that  day  without  further  trouble. 

He  is  awkward,  of  course,  but  rapidly  learns  the 
use  of  bit  and  spur,  and  soon  becomes  useful.  Many 
of  these  jDonies,  however,  are  never,  permanently 
subdued,  and  will  "buck"  every  time  they  are 
mounted.  Others  will,  all  through  life,  start  off 
quietly  when  first  mounted,  but  suddenly  take  a 
notion  to  buck  any  time  in  the  day.     This  class  is. 


AIN^D   OTIIEK  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  319 

the  most  dangerous,  for  the  best  rider  is  liable  to  be 
caught  at  a  disadvantage  when  off  his  guard  and 
thrown,  and  many  a  poor  cowboy  has  been  crippled 
for  life,  and  many  killed  outright  by  these  vicious 
brutes. 

I  have  seen  "j)ilgrims"  inveigled  into  riding 
"bucking  cayuses,"  either  for  the  sake  of  novelty, 
or  because  they  wanted  a  mount  and  there  was  no 
other  to  be  had;  but  in  every  instance  the  trial  of 
skill  between  the  man  and  the  pony  was  of  short 
duration.  For  an  instant  there  would  be  a  confused 
mass  of  horse,  hat,  coat-tails,  boots,  and  man,  flying 
through  the  air.  The  horse,  on  his  second  upward 
trip  would  meet  the  man  coming  down  on  his  flrst; 
the  man  would  see  whole  constellations  —  whole 
milky  ways  of  stars;  the  horse  would  meander  off 
over  the  prairie  free  and  untrameled,  and  as  we 
would  gather  up  the  deformed  and  disfigured  remains 
-of  the  pilgrim  and  dig  the  alkali  dirt  out  of  his 
mouth,  ears,  and  eyes,  he  would  tell  ns,  as  soon  as 
he  recovered  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  speak,  that  in 
future  he  ''had  rather  walk  than  ride." 

But,  fortunately  for  the  poor  cowboys,  there  are 
many  of  these  ponies  who  are  not  vicious,  and  let  us 
do  full  honor  to  the  genuine,  noble  cow- horse  who 
is  so  sure  and  fleet  of  foot  that  he  will  speedily  put 
his  rider  within  roping  distance  of  the  wildest,  swift- 
est, longest-horned  Texan  on  the  range.  Such  a  horse 
always  knows  when  the  riata  falls  right  for  head  or 
heels,  and  if  it  does  not  will  never  slacken  his  speed, 
but  keep  right  on  until  his  rider  can  recover  and 
throw  again.  But  when  it  does  fall  fair,  he  puts  it 
taut,  wheels  to  right  or  left  as  directed  by  a  gentle- 


320  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES. 

pressure  of  his  rider's  knee,  takes  a  turn  on  it  or 
gives  it  slack  as  may  be  required  to  down  the  beef, 
and,  when  this  is  accomplished,  stands  stiif-legged, 
firm,  and  immovable  as  a  rock,  holding  him  down 
by  the  strain  on  the  ]'ope,  and  watching,  with  eyes 
bulged  out  and  ears  set  forward  like  those  of  a  jack 
rabbit,  every  struggle  of  the  cai^tive  bullock,  and 
stands  pat  even  when  his  rider  dismounts  and  leaves 
him  to  brand  the  steer.     When  this  is  done,  and  his 


"SNARED." 

rider  remounts  he  is  ready  to  repeat  the  operation 
on  another  animal. 

I  have  frequently  known  a  cowboy  to  rope  a 
wdld  cow,  throw  her  and  milk  her  while  his  horse 
held  her  down  at  the  other  end  of  a  forty  foot 
rope.  Such  a  horse  is  worth  his  weight  in  gold 
to  a  cattleman,  and  his  kind-hearted  and  apx)reciative 
rider  would  go  supperless  to  bed  any  night,  if  nec- 
essary, in  order  that  his  faithful  steed  should  be  well 
fed  and  made  comfortable  in  every  possible  way. 

The  skill  that  some  of  these  men  attain  in  the  use 
the  lariat  is  also  most  marvelous.  An  expert  will 
catch  a  steer  by  the  horns,  the  neck,  the  right  or 


AND   OTKER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  321 

left  fore  foot  or  hind  foot,  whichever  he  may  choose — 
and  while  running  at  full  speed — with  idmost  uner- 
ring certainty.  I  have  even  seen  them  rope  jack 
rabbits  and  coyotes  after  a  long  run,  and  there  are 
well  authenticated  instances  on  record  of  even  bears 
being  choked  to  death  by  the  fatal  noose  when 
wielded  by  a  daring  ^'  knight  of  the  plains." 

At  a  "tournament"  in  a  Black  Hills  town  some 
months  ago,  a  cowboy  caught,  threw,  and  securely 
tied  a  wild  steer  in  fourteen  minutes  from  the  time 
he  was  let  out  of  the  corral.  A  similar  exhibition 
of  skill,  but  on  a  bronco  instead  of  a  steer,  which 
lately  took  place  in  a  New  Mexico  town,  is  thus 
•^described  by  an  eye  witness. 

' '  After  an  hour  of  discussion  and  pleasant  wran- 
gling, the  judge,  himself  a  line  rider,  called  out  the 
name  of  an  Arizona  cowboy,  a  champion  puncher 
and  rustler  from  Apache  County ;  at  the  same 
moment,  a  wild-eyed  bronco  was  released  from  the 
pen  and  went  bounding  and  bucking  over  the  min- 
iature plain.  According  to  the  rule,  the  Apache 
dounty  man  had  to  saddle  his  own  bronco,  rope  the 
fleeing  horse,  and  tie  him  for  branding  in  a  certain 
time.  Being  a  ''rustler,"  he  rustled  around  so 
lively  that  before  the  bronco  was  two  hundred  feet 
away,  he  had  saddled  and  bridled  his  own  animal, 
swung  himself  onto  it,  and  Avas  off,  gathering  up  his 
lariat  as  he  went.  The  other  bronco,  seeing  the 
€oming  enemy,  doubled  his  pace,  dodging  here  and 
there,  but  at  every  turn  he  was  met  by  his  pursuer, 
who  was  evidently  directed  by  his  rider's  legs,  and 
in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  the  fugitive 
was  overhauled;  the  rope  whistled  through  the  air, 

21 


322  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

and  dropped  quickly  over  the  bronco' s  head,  notwith- 
standing the  toss  he  had  made.  The  instant  it  fell, 
the  pursuing  bronco  rushed  and  headed  off  the  other,, 
winding  the  rope  about  his  legs;  then  suddenly  sit- 
ting back  upon  his  haunches  he  waited,  with  ears^ 
back,  for  the  shock.  It  came  with  a  rush,  and  the 
little  horse  at  the  other  end  of  the  rope,  as  was  the 
intention,  went  headlong  onto  the  field,  the  cowboy's 
bronco  holding  him  down  by  the  continual  strain 
that  he  kept  up.  The  moment  the  horse  went  down 
the  cowboy  vaulted  from  the  saddle,  untying  a  rope 
from  his  waist  as  he  ran,  and  was  soon  over  tha 
prostrate  animal,  lashing  the  hoofs  with  dextrous 
fingers,  so  that  it  could  have  been  branded  then  and 
there.  This  accomplished,  up  went  his  hands  as  a 
signal  to  the  judges,  who  now  came  galloping  over 
the  field,  a  roar  of  cheers  and  yells  greeting  tha 
Apache  County  man,  who  had  done  the  entire  work 
in  twelve  minutes,  thereby  securing  the  prize  of 
sundry  dollars." 

These  men  use  large,  heavy,  strongly-built  saddles, 
and  by  setting  the  cinch  up  tight  and  taking  a  turn 
or  two  of  the  rope  around  the  saddle  horn  they  will 
snake  a  large  animal,  either  dead  or  alive,  any 
desired  distance.  I  once  got  one  of  them  to  drag  a. 
large  bear  that  we  had  killed  out  of  a  thicket  into 
an  open  space,  so  that  we  could  photograph  him. 

Few  men  take  more  chances  or  endure  more  hard- 
ships than  cowboys.  In  addition  to  the  dangers, 
they  have  to  contend  with  from  riding  vicious  horses 
and  from  riding  into  stampeding  herds  of  wild  cattle, 
in  both  of  which  lines  of  duty  many  of  them  are 
crippled  and  some  killed  outright,  it  is  frequently 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  323 

necessary  for  them  to  lay  out  on  tlie  open  prairie  for 
several  days  and  nights  together,  perhaps  in  cold, 
rough  weather,  Avitli  no  other  food  or  bedding  than 
they  can  carry  on  their  saddle. 

The  slang  of  the  fraternity  is  highly  amusing  to 
a  stranger.  It  is  decidedly  crisp,  racy,  and  express- 
ive. Words  are  coined  or  adopted  into  their  ver- 
nacular that  will  convey  their  meaning  with  the 
greatest  possible  force  and  precision.  In  addition 
to  the  few  illustrations  already  given  in  this  sketch 
there  are  many  others  that  would  be  utterly  unin- 
telligible to  an  Eastern  man  unless  translated.  For 
instance,  when  they  brand  an  animal  they  put  the 
"jimption"  to  him;  when  they  want  a  hot  drink 
they  say  "put  some  jimption  in  it";  when  they 
warm  up  a  horse  with  the  spurs  or  quirt  they  "fan" 
him;  when  they  throw  lead  from  a  six-shooter  or  a 
Winchester  after  a  Hying  coyote  they  "fan"  him. 
And  "goose  hair " — ever  sleep  on  goose  hair?  This 
is  a  favorite  term  for  any  kind  of  a  "soft  snap." 
When  they  want  to  ridicule  a  tenderfoot,  and  espe- 
cially one  who  is  fond  of  good  living,  they  say  ' '  he 
wants  a  goose-hair  bed  to  sleep  on";  when  a  cow- 
boy is  in  luck  he  is  described  as  having  ' '  a  goose- 
hair  pillar,"  or  as  "  sleepin'  with  the  boss,"  or  as 
"ridin'  ten  horses,"  etc.  Altogether,  cowboys  are  a 
whole-souled,  large-hearted,  generous  cla^^s  of  fel- 
lows, whom  it  is  a  genuine  pleasure  to  ride,  eat,  and 
associate  with,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  nine-tenths 
of  the  hard  things  that  have  been  said  of  them  have 
come  from  men  Avho  never  knew,  intimately,  a  single 
one  of  them. 

I  contend  that  a  year  spent  on  the  hurricane  deck 


324  CRUISINGS  IN  THE   CASCADES 

of  a  cow-pony  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  valuable 
pieces  of  exjperience  a  young  man  can  x^ossibly  have 
in  fitting  himself  for  business  of  almost  any  kind, 
and  if  I  were  educating  a  boy  to  fight  the  battles  of 
life,  I  should  secure  him  such  a  situation  as  soon 
as  through  with  his  studies  at  school.  A  term  of 
service  on  a  frontier  cattle-ranch  will  take  the  con- 
ceit out  of  any  boy.  It  will,  at  the  same  time,  teach 
him  self-reliance;  it  will  teach  him  to  endure  hard- 
ships and  suffering;  it  will  give  him  nerve  and 
pluck;  it  will  develop  the  latent  energy  in  him  to  a 
degree  that  could  not  be  accomplished  by  any  other 
apprenticeship  or  experience.  I  know  of  many  of  the 
most  substantial  and  successful  business  men  in  the 
Western  towns  and  cities  of  to-day  who  served  their 
first  years  on  the  frontier  as  '^  cow  punchers,"  and  to 
that  school  they  owe  the  firmness  of  character  and 
the  ability  to  surmount  great  obstacles  that  have 
made  their  success  in  life  possible. 

I  claim  that  the  constant  communion  with  JN'ature, 
the  study  of  her  broad,  pure  domains,  the  days  and 
nights  of  lonely  cruising  and  camping  on  the  prairie, 
the  uninterruiDted  communion  with  and  study  of 
self  which  this  occupation  affords,  tends  to  make 
young  men  honest  and  noble — much  more  so  than 
the  same  men  would  be  if  deprived  of  tliese  oppor- 
tunities, confined  to  the  limits  of  our  boasted  ' '  civ- 
ilization," and  compelled  to  constantly  breathe  the 
air  of  adroitness,  of  strategy,  of  comj)etition,  of 
suspicion  and  crime.  I  claim  that  in  many  instances  a 
man  who  is  already  dishonest  and  immoral  may  be, 
and  I  know  that  many  have  been  made  good  and  hon- 
est by  freeing  themselves  from  the  evil  infiuences  of 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


325 


city  life,  and  betaking  themselves  to  a  life  on  the 
plains;  by  living  alone,  or  nearly  so,  and  habitually 
communing  with  themselves,  with  Nature,  and  with 
Nature's  God.  If  every  young  man  raised  in  town 
or  city  could  have  the  advantages  of  a  year  or  two 
of  constant  study  of  Nature,  untrammeled  by 
any  air  of  vice,  and  at  the  proper  time  in  life,  we 
should  have  more  honest  men,  and  fewer  defaulters, 
thieves,  and  criminals  of  every  class. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

A  MONTANA  ROUNDUP. 

SCRIPTIONS  of  cattle  roundups  in  the  far 
West  have  been  written,  arid  yet  many  of 
the  characteristic  scenes  that  the  spectator 
at  one  of  these  semi-annual  "  beef -gathering 
parties"  will  observe  have  not  been  de- 
scribed. There  is  so  much  to  interest  and 
excite  the  denizen  of  the  States  who  first 
attends  a  roundup  on  the  great  plains  that 
I  am  tempted  to  speak  of  some  of  the  more  promi- 
nent points  in  this  "greatest  show  on  earth,"  for 
the  benefit  of  such  as  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of 
witnessing  it. 

The  interests  of  cattlemen  in  general  are  so 
closely  linked,  and  there  is  such  urgent  need  of  a 
concert  of  action  among  them,  that  in  all  Western 
cattle-growing  districts  they  have  organized  into 
local  or  general  associations,  in  which  the  most  per- 
fect harmony  and  good  fellowship  exists,  and  in 
which  the  interests  of  every  individual  member  are 
closely  guarded  and  fostered  by  the  organization  as 
a  whole.  These  associations  meet  in  the  spring  and 
fall  of  each  year  and  fix  the  dates  for  holding  the 
roundups,  usually  prescribing  the  general  bound- 
aries in  which  each  local  outfit  shall  work.  The  spring 
roundup,  which  is  the  one  now  under  considera- 

(327) 


328  CRUISINGS   IX  THE  CASCADES 

tion,  is  held  in  the  latter  part  of  April  or  early  part 
of  May  in  Wyoming  and  Montana,  and  earlier  or 
later  in  other  States  and  Territories,  according  to- 
the  nature  of  the  climate,  weather,  etc.  A  roundup 
district  is  usually  limited  to  the  valley  of  some  large 
stream,  or  its  boundaries  are  designated  by  other 
prominent  and  well-known  landmarks. 

From  five  to  fifteen  miles,  or  even  more,  each  way 
from  the  ranch,  are  claimed  by  each  owner  or  com- 
pany as  a  range,  though  no  effort  is  made  usually 
to  keep  the  stock  within  these  boundaries.  They 
are  allowed  the  freedom  of  the  hills  and  table-lands- 
in  every  direction,  the  foreman  merely*  being 
required  to  know  about  where  to  find  them  when 
wanted,  and  to  prevent  them  from  going,  for  instance, 
west  of  the  Tongue  and  north  of  the  Yellowstone 
rivers  or  south  into  Wyoming. 

As  a  typical  spring  roundup,  let  us  observe  the 
one  recently  conducted  on  the  Powder  river  in 
Montana,  for  it  furnished,  perhaps,  as  many  interest- 
ing episodes  and  incidents  as  are  usually  seen  at  one 
of  these  entertainments.  This  stream  rises  in  the 
Big  Horn  Mountains  in  Northern  Wyoming  and 
fiows  northeast  through  Southern  Montana  to  the 
Yellowstone,  Into  which  it  empties  its  wealth  of 
crystal  fluid  just  east  of  Miles  City.  Up  to  a  few 
years  ago  its  valley  and  adjacent  table-lands  were 
peoj)led  only  by  roving  bands  of  Sioux,  Cheyenne, 
Pegan,  or  Crow  Indians,  while  vast  herds  of  buffa- 
loes and  antelopes  grazed  uj)on  its  nutritious  grasses. 
The  lordly  elk  and  'the  timid,  .agile  deer  roamed  at 
will  through  the  groves  of  cotton  wood  and  box-elder 
that  fringe  its  banks,  and  the  liowl  Df  the  coyote 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  329 

made  night  musical  to  the  ear  of  the  savage  in  his 
wigwam.  But  how  changed  the  scene  of  today! 
An  iron  railroad  bridge,  that  of  the  great  Northern 
Pacific,  spans  the  stream  near  its  mouth,  over  which 
roll  trains  of  palace  coaches  at  short  intervals,  while 
commercial  freights  en  route  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  or  vice  versa^  pass  over  it  almost  every 
hour.  From  the  mouth  of  the  stream  to  the  foot- 
hills of  the  mountain  range,  amid  whose  snow- 
capped peaks  it  rises,  is  now  a  well-beaten  road  over 
which  supplies  for  the  various  ranches  in  the  valley 
are  carried,  and  over  which  the  gallant  knights  of 
the  plains — the  cowboys — dash  to  and  fro  in  the 
performance  of  their  various  duties. 

At  intervals  of  ten  to  fifteen  miles  along  the  val- 
ley, the  traveler  passes  lanches,  the  headquarters 
of  the  wealthy  cattlemen  whose  herds  roam  all  over 
the  valleys,  the  hills,  and  table-lands  for  many 
miles  in  every  direction,  designating  the  companies 
or  individual  owners  merely  by  the  brands  their 
herds  bear  (which  is  the  custom  of  the  country). 
We  shall  encounter  on  our  way  the  "MC"  outfit, 
whose  herd  numbers  fourteen  thousand  head;  the 
"WL"  brand,  six  thousand  head;  "70L,"  one 
thousand  head;  "  S-I,"  twenty-five  thousand  head; 
"  iV,"  twenty -five  thousand  head;  ''=,"  fiYQ  thou- 
sand head;  and  many  other  smaller  and  some  larger 
herds.  The  buildings  and  improvements  consist 
generally  of  substantial,  roomy  log  houses,  stables 
for  the  horses,  corrals  or  strong  yards  in  which 
large  herds  of  cattle  may  be  confined  for  branding, 
etc.  The  Montana  Stock  Growers'  Association  has 
also  built  public  branding-pens  at  intervals  of  four 


330  CRUISINGS   IN  THE  CASCADES 

to  six  miles  along  tlie  river.  The  owners  of  the 
stock  seldom  live  on  the  ranches  themselves,  many 
of  them  being  residents  of  Eastern  cities,  and  others 
having  their  homes  in  the  railroad  towns  within 
convenient  distance  of  the  ranches.  The  occui)ants 
of  the  ''shack,"  as  the  ranch  house  is  called,  are 
the  foreman,  the  cook,  and  a  sufficient  number  of 
cowboys  or  herders  to  look  after  and  handle  the 
stock  properly.  Some  of  the  choice  bits  of  natural 
meadow  are  fenced  and  hay  cut  on  them,  and  each 
ranch  has  more  or  less  hay  land  about  the  heads  of 
creeks  on  its  range,  for  it  is  necessary  to  make 
hay  enough  each  season  to  feed  at  least  the  calves 
and  some  of  the  weaker  cattle  through  the  severe 
blizzards  that  so  frequently  occur  in  winter.  The 
cattle  belonging  to  each  of  these  ranches  are  allowed 
to  range  almost  at  will  over  the  adjacent  hills  and 
table-lands,  though  the  limits  proper  of  each  range 
are  supposed  to  extend  ten  to  fifteen  miles  in  each 
direction  from  the  ranch  house. 

The  Montana  Stock  Growers'  Association,  at  its 
meeting  in  March,  designated  the  seventh  day  of 
May  as  the  day  for  beginning  the  roundup  in  the 
Powder  river  district  this  year,  and  selected  a  fore- 
man to  take  cliarge  of  it  who  had  seen  many  years 
of  service  in  the  saddle,  who  has  a  happy  faculty  of 
•controlling  the  men  under  his  charge  perfectly,  and 
yet  of  x)utting  himself  on  free  and  friendly  terms 
with  them  all.  He  can  throw  a  i^iata  w^ith  such  pre- 
cision as  to  take  a  steer  by  the  head  or  by  either  foot 
he  wishes  in  almost  every  instance,  =  and  beasts  as 
well  as  men  soon  learn  to  obey  his  wishes. 

Anyone  who  has  only  seen  the  great  plains  late  in 


A^D   OTHER  HUNTING   ADVENTURES.  331 

summer  or  in  the  autumn,  after  the  grass  has  become 
sere  and  yellow  and  the  foliage  along  the  streams 
has  faded,  can  have  little  idea  of  the  jDristine  beauty 
presented  by  such  a  valley  as  that  of  the  Powder 
river  in  early  s^jring  time,  when  the  earth  is  carpeted 
with  verdure,  the  river  banks  lined  with  newly- 
<ilothed  trees  and  shrubs,  and  the  meadows  blooming 
with  flowers,  the  beauty  and  brilliancy  of  which 
can  not  be  excelled  anywhere.  The  winter  snows 
have  melted;  the  spring  rains  have  come  and  gone, 
leaving  the  earth  fresh  and  moist;  the  climate 
is  mild  and  delightful.  Under  all  these  charming 
conditions  who  would  not  enjoy  the  scene  unfolding 
before  our  eyes  as  we  mount  our  spirited  broncos 
and  ride  out  to  the  place  of  rendezvous  which  has 
been  appointed  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and 
where  the  clans  are  already  gathering.  Temjoorary 
camps  have  been  established  by  those  who  have 
arrived  in  advance  of  us,  around  which  groups  of 
cowboys  are  lounging.  A  band  of  horses  and  ponies 
which  they  have  liberated  is  contentedly  grazing  on 
the  river  bank,  and  several  small  bands  of  cattle 
may  be  seen  in  various  directions,  most  of  them 
at  considerable  distances  away,  for  they  are  wild 
and  avoid  the  presence  of  human  beings.  A  cloud 
of  dust  is  faintly  visible  on  top  of  the  divide 
nearly  three  miles  to  the  south,  and  on  examining 
it  carefully  with  our  glasses  we  find  it  is  being  raised 
by  a  jolly  band  of  five  cowboys,  who  are  riding  like 
mad,  each  leading  four  or  five  horses.  Looking  away 
to  the  north  we  see  a  mess- wagon,  or  "  chuck  outfit," 
approaching, drawn  by  four  horses,  and  from  the  slow 
and  labored  gait  at  which  they  toil  along  they  doubt- 


332  CRUISINGS   IJN^  THE   CASCADES 

less  bring  abundant  store  of  good  things.  Behind 
this,  two  riders  are  driving  ten  head  of  loose  horses. 
And  these  small  detachments  continue  to  come  in 
from  every  point  of  the  compass  all  the  forenoon, 
until,  when  all  the  ranches  in  this  roundup  district 
have  furnished  their  levies,  the  force  numbers  one 
hundred  and  thirty- five  men  and  about  twelve  hun- 
dred horses.  Each  rider  has  his  ' '  string ' '  of  horses, 
numbering  from  ^ve  to  seven,  and  changes  two  or 
three  times  a  day,  riding  one  horse  twenty  to  forty 
miles,  and  sixty  to  seventy -five  miles  a  day  is  con- 
sidered a  fair  day's  work  for  a  man.  The  reserve 
herd  is  placed  in  charge  of  a  herder  or  ^'wrangler," 
who  is  required  to  keep  them  under  perfect  control, 
and  to  be  able  to  produce  such  of  them  as  are 
wanted  on  short  notice,  the  rtata  being  frequently 
used  in  taking  them  out  of  the  herd.  The  foreman 
has  arrived  and  takes  charge  of  the  entire  outfit, 
placing  it  on  a  thoroughly  effective  and  working 
basis  for  the  morrow. 

'  At  3.30  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  men  are  called. 
They  are  out  of  their  blankets  and  dressed  in  less 
time  than  it  takes  an  Eastern  man  to  rub  his  eyes 
and  yawn ;  each  catches  and  saddles  his  horse ; 
breakfast  is  hastily  eaten,  and  at  the  first  dawn  of 
day,  they  ride  out  in  twos  or  fours  in  every  direction. 
These  men  present  a  decidedly  picture^^que,  not  to 
say  brigandish,  appearance  as  they  dash  out  across 
the  prairie;  their  red,  blue,  and  gray  flannel  shirts, 
canvas  pants,  leather  chaparejos,  broad  sombreros, 
colored  silk  handkerchiefs  knotted  around  their 
necks;  w^ell -filled  cartridge-belts,  from  which  hang 
their  six-shooters ;  their  high-top    cowhide    boots. 


AND   OTHER   HUNTING  ADVENTURES.  333 

and  large  Mexican  spurs,  making  up  a  tout  ensemble 
that  a  band  of  Texan  rangers  might  envy.  Their 
work,  their  fun,  their  excitement  now  begin,  for 
small  bunches  of  cattle  are  sighted  in  every  direc- 
tion, which  are  to  be  rounded  up  and  driven  along, 
and  there  is  no  time  to  lose.  As  they  dash  hither 
and  thither  after  the  fleeing,  scurrying  creatures, 
the  proverbial  good  nature,  high  spirits,  and  enthu- 
siasm of  these  "knights  of  the  plains"  find  vent  in 
a  series  of  hoots,  yells,  jokes,  '*ki-yis,"  bits  of 
song,  and"'  grotesque  slang  expressions,  many  of 
which  are  strikingly  expressive  when  understood,  but 
which  would  be  utterly  unintelligible  to  a  fresh  ten- 
derfoot. The  majority  of  these  Western  cattle  are 
almost  as  wild  as  the  native  buffaloes  whose  place 
they  have  usurped,  having  never  been  subjected  to 
the  dominion  of  man,  and  rarely,  in  fact,  have  they 
ever  come  face  to  face  with  him.  At  the  first 
approach  of  the  riders,  therefore,  they  throw  up 
their  heads  and  tails,  look  wild,  sniff  the  air,  and 
tlien  turn  and  run  like  a  herd  of  antelopes.  But 
by  fast  riding  and  skillful  maneuvering  they  are 
soon  rounded  up  and  herded.  It  is  a  bit  of  the  true 
spice  of  life  for  these  dare-devil  riders  to  find  a 
vicious,  rebellious,  "alecky  ■'  young  critter  who  con- 
cludes that  he  won' t  be  rounded  up;  and  no  sooner  has 
the  belligerent  shaken  his  burly  head,  pawed  the 
earth  a  few  times,  turned  tail  to  his  pursuers,  broken 
through  the  skirmish  line  and  sailed  away  across  the 
prairie,  than  three,  four,  or  perhaps  half  a  dozen  cay- 
uses,  who  are  also  now  in  their  elements,  are  headed 
for  him.  Lariats  are  loosened  from  the  saddle  horn, 
spurs  rattle  as  they  pierce  the  flanks  of  the  already 


334  0RUISING6   IlN    THE   CASCADES 

willing  and  eager  steeds,  and  there  ensues  a  wild,, 
headlong,  reckless  race  that  can  have  but  one  result. 
The  steer  may  be  fleet  of  foot,  and  may  lead,  through 
a  half-mile  dash,  but  sooner  or  later  is  headed  off 
and  turned.  He  may  make  a  fresh  break  in  another 
direction,  but  his  pursuers  are  down  on  him  again 
like  a  pack  of  hungry  wolves  on  a  stray  sheep.  And 
now,  as  the  riders  close  in  on  him,  they  belabor  him 
unmercifully  with  their  heavy  coils  of  rope,  or  with 
rawhide  ''quirts"  carried  for  this  purpose.  If  par- 
ticularly wild,  obstinate,  or  obstreperous,  he  still 
keeps  breaking  away,  and  refusing  to  come  into 
camp.  A  riata  glistens  in  the  sunlight,  whistles 
through  the  air  and  falls  over  his  head.  Another 
follows  and  puts  a  foot  in  the  stocks.  Taking  twa 
or  three  turns  of  the  lariat  around  the  horn  of  the 
saddle,  the  men  ride  in  opposite  directions  till  the 
ropes  come  taut,  the  steer  is  fairly  lifted  from  the 
earth  and  falls  with  a  dull  and  thudful  sound  that 
may  be  heard  a  hundred  yards.  Then  another  rope 
is  thrown  over  his  head,  the  spurs  are  put  to  the^ 
faithful  jDonies,  they  are  transposed  for  the  time  into 
draft  horses,  and  the  luckless  victim  is  ignominiously 
"snaked"  toward  the  herd,  while  the  other  boys 
' '  bang ' '  him  with  coils  of  rope  from  behind.  A  few 
yards  of  this  mode  of  travel  is  usually  suflBicient  to 
tame  the  wildest  long-horn  Texan  on  the  range,  an  d 
a  few  vigorous  bellows  soon  announce  an  uncondi- 
tional surrender.  The  ropes  are  then  taken  off,  he 
is  let  UJ3,  and  it  is  short  work  to  put  him  in  the  herd. 
The  valiant  riders  scour  the  country  hither  and 
thither,  far  and  near,  "gathering  beef"  from  east, 
west,  north,  and  south.     Every  hoof  found,  regard- 


a:n^d  other  hunting  adventures.         335 

less  of  the  brand  it  bears,  or  whether  it  bears  any,  is. 
picked  up  by  this  human  cyclone  and  carried  along. 
Toward  noon  the  herds  already  gathered  are  driven 
into  the  branding  pens,  where  they  are  corraled. 
The  calves  are  snatched  out  and  the  *' jimption  is. 
socked  to  'em,"  as  the  boys  express  it.  So  with  any 
yearlings  or  older  stock  that  have  escaped  the  brand- 
ing-iron in  former  seasons.  One  or  more  irons  for 
each  owner  are  kept  hot,  and  when  a  roper  has. 
^'  downed  - '  an  animal  he  or  the  foreman  calls  for  the 
iron  wanted,  and  setting  his  foot  upon  the  victim's 
neck  places  the  red-hot  device  on  its  ribs,  and  throws. 
his  weight  upon  it,  leaving  a  deep,  indelible,  and 
time-enduring  trade-mark  which  even  he  who  runs^ 
may  read.  Its  ears,  dew  lap,  or  the  loose  skin  on  its 
jaw  are  then  slit  and  it  is  turned  loose  again. 

When  a  band  is  branded  it  is  turned  out;  the 
party  who  brought  it  in  change  horses,  and  away 
they  go  for  another  run.  No  special  branders  are 
now  provided,  every  man  in  the  outfit,  the  cook  and 
wrangler  excepted,  being  required  to  ' '  s waller  dust ' ' 
and  "wrestle  calves"  in  the  pens.  Near  the  middla 
of  the  day  each  squad  comes  in  after  finishing  their 
catch,  make  a  run  on  the  mess- wagons  and  devour 
the  substantial  provender  with  which  they  are 
loaded^  with  appetites  born  only  of  the  labor  and 
excitement  in  which  they  are  engaged. 

The  afternoon  is  usually  devoted  to  branding  the 
last  bunches  brought  in,  and  to ' '  cutting  out, ' '  return- 
ing or  throwing  over  such  stock  as  does  not  belong 
to  any  of  the  ranchmen  in  this  district.  Strays  are 
frequently  picked  up  whose  brands  show  them  to  be 
a  hundred  miles  or  more  from  home.     When  a  num- 


836  CRUISINGS  IN  THE  CASCADES 

ber  of  these  ^re  collected  they  are  cut  out  and  a 
squad  of  men  drive  them  onto  their  proper  ranges. 
This  process  is  called  "  throwing  over." 

The  cooks,  teamsters,  and  wranglers  usually  move 
camp  up  the  river  every  morning  to  the  next  brand- 
ing-pen, or  to  some  other  siDot  designated  by  the 
foreman,  to  which  rounders  bring  their  cattle  during 
the  day.  A  portion  of  the  stock  collected,  called  the 
*'cavoy,"  is  carried  along  with  the  camp  all  the  time 
and  herded  by  the  "holders,"  but  large  numbers 
after  being  branded  are  bunched  and  again  thrown 
off*onto  the  range  each  day.  Thus  the  outfit  moves 
slowly  up  the  stream,  making  a  clean  sweep  of  every- 
thing to  the  middle  of  the  divides  on  the  east  and 
west,  until  the  Wyoming  roundup  on  the  same 
stream  is  met  coming  down.  And  now,  having  com- 
pleted the  work  in  hand,  the  outfit  breaks  up,  and 
the  men  return  to  the  respective  ranches  on  which 
they  are  employed  or  go  to  other  roundups  where 
their  services  are  needed. 

The  object  of  the  fall  roundup  is  to  gather 
in  and  cut  out  the  fat  steers  and  drive  them  to 
the  railroad  stations  for  sliipment  to  Eastern 
markets.  The  work  being  almost  entirely  on  adult 
animals  is  even  more  laborious  and  hazardous 
than  that  of  the  spring,  where  the  majority  of 
animals  actually  handled  are  calves.  Hard  riding^ 
vigorous  "cutting,"  and  daring  dashes  into  head- 
strong, iDanic-stricken,  stampeding  herds  are  neces- 
sary here,  and  roping  and  dragging  out  by  main 
strength  are  hourly  occurrences.  Branding-irons 
are  also  carried  along,  and  any  calves  missed  on  the 
spring  roundup,  or  dropped  after  it,  are  subjected  to 


AND   OTHER  HUNTmG   ADVENTURES.  337 

the  fiery  ordeal,  just  as  their  brothers  and  sisters 
were  at  the  Mayday  party. 

Stray  cattle,  either  calves  or  adults,  bearing  no 
brand  and  found  alone  or  herded  with  others  already 
branded,  but  whose  parentage  can  not  be  definitely 
determined,  are  called  "Mavericks,"  and  in  some 
districts  are  sold  at  auction  and  the  proceeds  given 
to  the  school  fund.  In  others,  they  become  the 
property  of  the  man  or  company  upon  whose  range 
they  are  found.  This  privilege,  however,  is  seri- 
ously abused  by  dishonest  ranchmen  and  cattle 
thieves,  who  infest  every  Western  cattle-growing 
district.  These  men  ride  out  over  the  ranges  at 
times  when  they  are  not  likely  to  be  observed,  carry- 
ing their  branding-irons  along,  and  rope  and  brand 
every  animal  they  can  find  that  does  not  already 
bear  a  brand.  In  some  ca^es  these  are  allowed  to 
remain  v/here  found,  for  the  time  being,  but  are 
usually  driven  onto  the  range  claimed  by  the  pirate 
who  does  the  work.  In  other  instances,  these  men 
first  drive  the  unbranded  stock  onto  their  own 
ranges,  and  then,  under  cover  of  the  Maverick  law, 
openly  claim  and  brand  it  as  their  own.  Many 
large  herds  have  been  accumulated  almost  wholly 
by  this  system  of  thievery,  and  there  are  wealthy 
cattlemen  in  the  West  to-day  who  never  bought  or 
honestly  owned  a  dozen  head  of  the  thousands  that 
bear  their  brand.  A  certain  cowboy,  when  asked  by 
an  Eastern  man  what  constitutes  a  Maverick,  replied: 
''It's  a  calf  that  you  find  and  get  your  brand  on 
before  the  owner  finds  it  and  gets  his  on."  . 

But  it  is  risky  business,  this  cattle  stealing,  and 
many  a  man  who  has  been  caught  at  it  has  been  left 

22 


338  CRUISINGS   IN  THE   CASCADES 

on  the  prairies  as  food  for  the  coyotes,  or  has  orna- 
mented the  nearest  cotton  wood  tree  until  the  mag- 
pies and  butcher  birds  have  polished  his  bones. 

Branding  is  a  decidedly  cruel  proceeding,  and 
would  doubtless  come  under  the  bane  of  Mr.  Bergh's 
displeasure  were  he  here  to  witness  it.  Yet  it  seems 
a  necessary  evil,  there  being  no  other  known  means 
of  marking  cattle  so  effectually  and  indelibly. 

Parties  of  ladies  frequently  go  out  from  the  towns 
or  cities  to  see  the  roundup,  not  knowing  or  think- 
ing of  the  painful  features  of  it.  They  enjoy  the 
ride  across  the  prairies  and  through  the  valleys.  The 
beautiful  scenery,  the  grotesque  "Bad  Lands,"  the 
red,  scoria-capped  hills,  the  beautiful  green  meadows, 
and  the  fringes  of  green  trees  that  mark  the  mean- 
derings  of  the  streams,  all  delight  and  interest 
them;  they  enjoy  the  displays  of  horsemanship  given 
by  the  valorous  cowboys  as  they  wheel  and  cavort 
hither  and  thither  in  pursuit  of  scurrying  bands  of 
cattle;  they  enjoy  the  stampeding  and  wild  flight, 
the  "knotting"  and  "holding"  of  the  large  herds^ 
all  so  skillfully  and  cleverly  performed;  they  enjoy 
the  sight  of  the  thousand  and  more  loose  horses, 
grazing  and  scampering  over  the  plains;  they  enjoy 
the  fresh,  pure  air,  the  wholesome  noon  repast  in 
the  shade  of  the  great  cottonwood  trees,  and  many 
other  pleasant  phases  of  the  affair.  But  when  the 
fire  is  lit  and  the  murderous  irons  inserted  in  it; 
when  the  captive  creatures  are  dragged  forth  lowing, 
murmuring,  and  bellowing;  when  the  red-hot  iron  is 
pressed  into  their  quivering,  smoking  sides  until  the 
air  is  laden  with  the  odor  of  burning  hair  and  roast- 
ing flesh,  and  the  poor  creature  writhes  and  strug- 


AND   OTHER  HUNTING  ADVENTURES. 


339 


gles  in  its  agony,  the  roundup  is  robbed  of  its 
romance,  and  the  ladies  are  ready  to  start  for  home 
at  once. 


r 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.00  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


MAY   25  Wa 


'^AV26    ,S36 


MAY  27  1936 


HVrtr 


xi-r 


MOV- 


^1  ma 


LD  21-100m-7,'33 


1#^^^K* 


280810 


ONIVBRSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


